Things We Do For Love
by iluvaqt
Summary: Post Season 2. Alec will do whatever it takes to save Max, even if it means he could lose everything in the process.
1. A bit of history

**Title: **Things We Do For Love  
**Disclaimer:** I don't have ownership of any of these characters. They belong to their respective creators, including Cameron/Eglee Productions and 20th Century Fox Studios. The story is not for sale it is written solely for Dark Angel fans. No money is being made from the use of these characters.  
**Spoilers:** Post "Freak Nation". Futurefic  
**Pairing:** Max/Alec

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**A decommissioned research facility, 20 miles outside Winthrop, Washington**

Helicopter rotors hummed in the distance, the roar of Hummer engines sounded through the trees, and the signal on his Palm Pilot told them it was time to go. They had to leave and hope that Max had gotten the warning in time. Someone leaked the rendezvous. That was the only explanation he could think of.

"We're moving out."

The five combat-trained operatives quickly stowed their gear and made for the truck. Taking one last glance at the field surrounding the entrance to the building, their leader followed suit.

Two weeks earlier, Sandeman's Old House

"Lydecker's alive," Logan said scanning the message. "He wants to set up a meet."

Max leaned over his shoulder and read the message for herself. Lydecker had sent Logan a message via the Eyes Only Informant Net. He'd been missing for months, presumed dead. She didn't find it strange that her former nemesis had faked his own death but her gut told her not to jump at the opportunity of a reunion. The fact that he'd reached out to them via an informant, suggested it was the man himself and not an imposter, Lydecker was one of the few outside the Terminal City HQ circle who knew Logan was Eyes Only. However considering their current circumstances, she trusted anyone outside Terminal City about as far as she could toss them and anyone attached to Manticore and the Government even less.

"What do you think?" Logan asked glancing up at her. They'd been on rocky ground for awhile. He knew she still considered him a friend, but it had been a long time since she'd ever let him get behind her emotion barricades.

Max straightened and folded her arms over her chest. "Tell him I'll be there, but I won't go alone. I might be fast but I'm not stupid."

Sighing she leaned against the desk across from him and watched him type. There was no going back for them. That door had closed after their failed attack on Manticore. They'd been trying and failing to salvage something that never had a chance to began in the first place. She'd fooled herself into thinking she could have a normal relationship with a guy. It hadn't worked, even after biochemistry forced her to find a mate. What made her think it'd work even if she chose the guy hormones aside? Who was she kidding, her life was just way too screwed up to think she could have any kind of normalcy.

No, the door to a possible Max and Logan was chained with the lock welded shut. And it wasn't a retrovirus or an imaginary party between them, it was just the ominous sign that told her it was over, it wasn't meant to be. Another omen, their daughter, born far too early, but offering saving grace just the same. Her heart clenched painfully at the memory.

Dr. Shankar was the one who'd broached the idea to them. A cousin of hers had once donated bone marrow to a sibling when he'd been suffering from leukemia. That experience got her thinking about their situation. Beverly had discussed Max's condition with a geneticist friend and they'd come up with a possible solution. Cord blood from a baby carrying the genetics of both the viral host and the target.

Logan had been vehemently against the idea. He was a very traditional, old-school-type, children came after marriage and furthermore thought the whole thing seemed barbaric. Having a kid just so you could use it as a guinea pig. He hadn't said those exact words but his arguments against going ahead conveyed his feelings pretty clearly.

Max on the other hand hadn't been so quick to say no. The idea of carrying something inside her and raising a child under any other circumstances would have freaked her out and sent her running for the hills. But she'd been spending a lot of time with Gem and the more she got to thinking that it was something she could do. She knew if Logan was to stay a part of her life, they had to find a cure. And this was the best hope they'd been given so far. There were certainly no other alternatives looming on the horizon. After a lot of persuasion and reasoning, she had twisted his arm into letting her do it for them. After all, not much was required of him. Just a few of his little soldier's in a cup. Turned out they needed more than a few go arounds. About eight. Even her eggs had turned out to be hostile to his DNA. It had taken persistence and lot of luck to get one egg fertilized.

She loved Logan and she'd love their child. Even if a relationship with him didn't work out, she had convinced herself that she would always care for him and a child would only strengthen that. Everything had been so positive, so hopeful. Nothing could have prepared her for the loss. Even though the stem cells had worked and Logan was cured. Losing their baby at 14 weeks after being bed-ridden, suffering reoccurring bouts of dehydration from the vomiting, and her body fighting the pregnancy from day one, the pain hit her harder than anything else she'd ever experienced. With all the death and angst she'd been through in her life, that was saying a lot. She couldn't explain it, it was more than feeling like a failure, it felt like she had lost part of herself and no amount of grief, regrets, reassurances or tears could mend the fracture in her heart.

They'd all tried to reach her when she'd withdrawn from everything and everyone. She'd left Terminal City, much to Logan's anxiety. He could hide underground on the outside without a lot of trouble but she was far too recognizable. For weeks she'd crashed at Kendra's. Walter had been amazingly supportive and invisible. Strangely enough, it had been Alec who'd finally coaxed some life into her. Seeing Logan reminded her of the baby, OC was just too sympathetic, Joshua did his best and did make her smile with his little 'big' brother charm but nothing he could do or say could make her forget. When Alec had come around, she'd been ready to close the door on him. She'd had enough of the good-intentions. He'd stuck his foot out and given her a stern look.

"Enough with the self-absorbed, moping Max. So you got hit good this time, it's time to get back up. We've got bigger problems that you need to deal with. You didn't ask to be a leader, and you didn't ask to have a staring role in the pending apocalypse, but tough, you are and we need you."

A lecture was the last thing she ever expected. Especially coming from him. At first she had been stunned for words and couldn't face him or acknowledged his pep-talk. It was when she caught the defeated hitch in his breath, that her heart skipped a beat. He had taken a huge gamble coming to see her and an even bigger risk trying to kick her butt in gear. She thought he'd walked away but instead his arms had come around her and he'd given her a tight hug. All the feelings she had tried to bury came flooding out, he held her the whole time while she felt as though she cried herself dry. Never in her short life had she ever believed her body could produce so much fluid. Afterward they'd talked till midnight and she lost count of how many glasses of mineral water she'd downed.

The next day she'd packed her things and gone back to Terminal City. That had been about week ago and she hadn't seen Alec since.

"Who you going to take as back up?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Max shrugged. "I'll talk it over with the guys at HQ. They have the equipment to run com. and logistics from there. You can sit in, if you want."

Logan looked away and tried to seem engrossed with something on screen. He shouldn't have agreed to let her go ahead with the pregnancy. So they'd gotten a cure out of it, it wasn't worth the price she'd paid. Their strained friendship had taken a dive further south and she seemed a shadow of her former self.

He had always been optimistic that they would have eventually found a cure, or maybe he'd have even build up an immunity, who knew. Anyway, it was in the past now. The most he could hope for is that she would still come to him for help and she still let him be a part of her life. Even if at times it seemed he was more of a distant observer, sometimes go-to guy, than anything else.

At Terminal City headquarters she'd told the boys of her news. Mole had snorted at the mention of Lydecker and firmly stated that in no-uncertain terms that he'd rather get shot in the foot than have anything to do with a Manticore crony. Dix had been equally skeptical but since he wouldn't be leaving the comfort of his chair, he agreed to play eyes and ears.

The only X5 she could find who hadn't either laughed or looked at her like she'd suddenly sprouted a tail to match her feline DNA, was surprise, surprise, Alec. Okay, he had laughed too, but when she'd stated that she was serious, he'd asked her when and where. When Gem heard, she'd wanted to come along but considering the drive alone was an eight-hour trip, she had to sit this one out. There was no one she could leave Missy with for longer than a couple hours. Joshua was great but even he had his limits with a super-fast toddler, with curious fingers.

Four months later, an underground laboratory

"I don't care what you tell him, just get him to co-operate. We're weeks away from completing an inoculation but her condition is getting worse. We need some way to reach her," the white-haired man said worriedly.

"Leave it to me," Lydecker said confidently.

Walking out of the laboratory and down the corridor, he entered his windowless office. He sat down at his desk and tapped a key on his laptop. Returning from sleep-mode, the screen revealed a female figure prone stiffly across a small cot, restraints on her ankles and wrists. Her head was turned away from the camera and her long hair splayed across her face shielded her profile from view. He reached out and traced her the outline of her cheek.

Leaning back in his chair, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. The file spread open on his desk held various documents, a genetic profile, a psychological evaluation and other pieces of gathered information, including a few blurred black and white photographs. They'd had the X5 for months, he could very well be dead, or comatose in some lab somewhere. Neither scenario would help their cause. There was no guarantee that the information his source provided was still current.

Trying to bring in anyone else could lead to exposure, and they'd done an excellent job staying off The Conclave's radar this long. With the resources they'd poured into this operation and all they'd left behind in order to stay alive, there was every reason to take extreme precautions. Besides, all she needed was a familiar face. A friendly face. If he were a gambling man, he'd have grabbed one of the lab techs and gotten them to role play, but his protégé was smart. He had no idea how much she remembered and he wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. There was too much at stake.


	2. Searching for hope

**Terminal City**

It had been months since there'd been any word on Alec or Max. Logan had gone out of his mind after they hadn't returned from the failed meet. The first thing he'd down was chased down the source of Lydecker's message. He'd vainly hoped that in this case his instincts were wrong. Lydecker had used an unsecured network to gain a connection and send his message. In a last ditch attempt to track the man down, Logan asked Matt Sung to re-open Lydecker's file. It had been shelved because they'd never found a body. Matt said he couldn't start an official investigation without any new leads but he promised to keep his feelers out for anything that could come up.

On the positive Matt had been able to help in getting him to the Winthrop facility. Logan had to pass three security check-points to get there and unlike Max and Alec, he didn't have covert training or transgenic speed to get him by. Two A-level Clearance Passes in hand, he had waited a week before going to make sure that the place wasn't being watched. Logan recruited Ronan, one of the X5s who'd been in Alec's old unit. He figured it would be easier getting a X-series past security than a Joshua or Mole. Although both his friends as it turned out, had their own ideas. Exploring the facility and the surrounding bush, they'd run into Mole scouring the maze of basement corridors and Ronan had caught up with Joshua following a trail by the river at the bottom of a ravine a short distance from the main building.

"I followed tracks from up there. I smelt Max and found this." Joshua showed Ronan a torn piece of black fabric. There was dried blood on it. "She fell and they took her."

"You think White has her?" Ronan asked.

"If Max…" he paused not being able to say the words. He had lost Annie. He wouldn't lose Max. Joshua shook his head. "…I would feel it," he finished, bringing his fist to his chest over his heart. "Little fella's alive." He hoped for the sake of his special friend that the enemy didn't have her. He trembled at the thought of what White would do to her if he did.

Mole bumped into Logan coming around a bend and stopped short of plowing him into the cement wall. "You shouldn't sneak up on people," he growled.

Logan gave a nervous laugh. "Getting rusty there, big guy?"

Mole snorted. "I was concentrating on the trail. The faint boot marks are hard to sort."

Logan nodded, hoping it looked like he understood what Mole was talking about. He figured the Lizard-man was trying to figure out how many people were down here and if he could pick their friends from the enemy. At least that's what he guessed.

"Alec was carried from here. Max's prints lead back out. The stride is longer than a walk so I don't think she was captured down here. Joshua's making tails of the ones up top. We should find him. Not gonna get much more from around here. With those pansy things, you've probably screwed with the rest of the prints anyway." He gave a jab in the direction of Logan's black sneakers with his cigar.

Logan was about to protest that they were the only shoes that fit comfortably with the exoskeleton when Mole roughly brushed past him. Logan rolled his eyes at Mole's worn-leather-clad back. Good thing the transhuman was impatient, it just saved him from add more fuel to Mole's constant huffing that humans were a waste of time.

Offshore holding facility, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

Alec's arms ached, heck, his whole body felt like one big oozing, bruised and blistered sore, but currently it was his arms that had his attention. It was the cage today. They rotated their interrogation techniques. There was the tank, a 50-gallon fish bowl that they dropped him in, when he got tired of treading water, he could either sink to the bottom or sit on a bar they had suspended underwater. After three weeks of that in 48 hour stretches, he'd welcomed the quiet, cold depths and wondered if it would be easier, nicer, to just give into the burning sensation in his chest and draw breath while hunched over the bar.

Then there was the cube. Manticore had a similar form of punishment. It was a small space that steadily became smaller until you were in a semi-fetal position. If you were claustrophobic you would have given up everything they wanted before you started crouching, unless you'd already passed out from hyperventilating. But those tactics were a picnic compared to the bird cage.

Suspended 15ft in the air, in a jail cage, with his wrists bound above his head, he felt lucky there was never much of a draft. He'd be swinging in the breeze in more ways than one. Where did they think he was going to go anyway? Nobody knew where he was, and even if he managed a Houdini, there were guards with tasers and guns patrolling the place. He knew that because when he got dragged down various corridors to other rooms, he got an eyeful of glares and sneers along the way. After they were done with him for a week stretch, they'd leave him for a day or two in a concrete cell with nothing but a dirty mattress.

No one tended his wounds, and it was only on the cell days, that they left him goop, they called food, to eat. In all the time he'd been there, he'd never once seen another prisoner. He felt completely isolated. After hours in the darkness, sometimes he heard what sounded like whispers. After awhile he figured it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Something that bothered him was the naked thing. He was always naked. They'd taken his clothes after his first dunk in the tank. They hadn't appeared again. He figured that since they used tasers and battens on him maybe they liked to see either inflictions but buck naked? Maybe it was a fetish. He shuddered, he wasn't going to dwell on that thought. White was a sick, twisted bastard, he'd never give him the satisfaction of getting what he wanted. At first, it bothered him because he was always freezing. Well for the first couple weeks anyway. He had stopped feeling cold. That was until he'd had another session in the tank. Then his body had to adjust all over again.

The talking stopped after the first week. From his end anyway. His wise cracks and nonsense ramblings had just made the beating come faster and harder. He'd stopped wincing and groaning a week after that, any response at all made them smile. He just closed his eyes, retreated to his subconscious and waited for them to stop. Bless Manticore for all that PSYOPs training. Time seemed to stand still all most. It was only when his surroundings changed that he figured days had passed. He kept track of time by their loose routine. Every couple of days he'd get to eat and sleep. Then it'd start all over again. Why hadn't White killed him already? He wasn't going to talk, what possible use could he have. Unless he was bait.

He didn't know why he kept on living but he did. Why suffer through the pain? So what if he was made to be hardy and resilient against disease and injury, it would been fine to give in already. His superiors would have been proud at his resistance, his strength of will. He laughed at that thought. It wasn't them that had given him the confidence in himself. They weren't the ones who'd molded his character into something good, something to be proud of, something to fight to hang onto. Perhaps it was the naive hope that someone would come for him. Or maybe it was that every time he closed his eyes to sleep, she'd come to him, just like she had that night he'd seen her for the last time.


	3. For the ones you love

Months earlier, basement, Winthrop Research Station

"Max," Alec started, she had cut him off with a look.

"They've breeched the building. They've got all the roads blocked and there's aerial surveillance," Dix advised over the comms.

"Don't worry, Max. Joshua left with a couple guys as soon as we got the message. Back up's on the way," Logan broke in.

Alec shook his head. There was no point White getting anymore for them. They were surrounded. Even if Joshua set a new speed record and some how got past the blockades, there was no way they would all escape with without risking casualties or leaving friends behind.

"Tell Joshua to stay away. It's too dangerous. I don't want him attempting a rescue. That goes for any of you. We can handle this, Max out." She deactivated her comm. piece and pocketed it.

Alec followed suit. "So what's the plan?"

"Haven't figured it out yet." Max went to the window and ducked as a pair of boots walked by the small basement window. She went to the far end of the room and rolled a couple more oil drums in front of the door.

"That's not going to keep them out forever." Alec ran a hand through his hair and sat down against a row of large pipes.

"This place is abandoned. There's no power. There's no reason for them to think we haven't long gone." Max started pacing. There was a way out of this, she was good at problem solving. If only they'd waited ten more minutes before leaving. Why did she have to insist that they get here before Lydecker?

Because they'd left the van early, they'd missed Logan calling on her cell with the warning. By the time they'd activated comms., they'd already heard the helicopter hovering close by, its large spotlight cutting through the trees. The sound of engines in the distance meant that their route out was cut off. They couldn't take the road. Deciding to make a run for it on foot, the spotlight almost directly illuminated them from above. The enemy was already here. They couldn't shake a helicopter, even in the trees. Alec tugged on her arm and motioned at the building. Max hadn't liked the idea because it meant that they could get cornered. It was a big place, she reasoned to herself. Maybe they could hide and wait them out. Without more than a seconds hesitation, she caught up with him.

"As much as I'd like to think your pacing'll dig us out of here, it's not helping," Alec said offhandedly with a half smirk.

Max glared at him through narrowed eyes and then threw up her hands. "Are you ever serious?"

"I'm being serious. We might not make it out of this one," he said softly.

Max stopped pacing and studied him, letting her arms fall loosely at her sides. He looked defeated. She'd only ever seen him like that once before. Just before she stopped Robert Berrisford from killing him. She walked over and knelt in front of him. "Where's the sarcastic, pain in the ass, who's always alright, huh?" she teased.

Alec grimace and gave her a snort. "That's all I am to you." He couldn't stand the look of pity in her eyes. She'd always looked down at him. Alec, the guy who always needed saving. Alec, the screw up. Just once, he thought he'd risen above that. He'd been there for her. When she'd needed a kick in gear, he'd given it to her. Joshua had encouraged him to go see her. He'd thought it was a bad idea. Since when did Max ever want to see him. He had been as surprised as anyone to see it had worked though.

Max chewed her lip. She'd stopped thinking of him as a thorn in her side a long time ago. Yeah, she like to tease him, but he'd give it back just as much - some times worse. He was always saying she was too stiff, too bossy, too much of a kill joy. He'd even joked that she was probably in desperate needed of a good screw, and that's why she was so up tight all the time. He'd collected a swift kick in the ass for that remark. If he hadn't been walking away at the time, she would have gotten him in the groin. It's were her attack had been intended for his low blow. Even if it had been in jest.

"You're a good friend, Alec, I thought knew me better than that." Max pulled the elastic from her ponytail and was about to re-tie it when Alec caught her hand. Her eyes went wide at the contact and her gaze flew to his face.

Alec swallowed thickly, but he didn't release her hand, he pulled it toward him and interlaced his fingers with hers. "I know I told you I wasn't into stealing other guy's girls but truth is, you just got under my skin Max. I don't know when but I've been having anything but friendly thoughts about you."

His confession ended in a husky whisper and Max felt a ripple of apprehension wash over her. Heat snaked up her neck to her cheeks and she felt her heartbeat quicken in her chest. This wasn't a response she normally had around Alec. Oh God, no way. Of all the times for her cursed genetics to screw her over. Literally.

Alec noticed her eyes flare in panic. From the red in her checks and the thundering of her pulse, he took a guess at what she was thinking. "This isn't Manticore. I think you like me too, you're in denial," he said gently.

Max blinked and tried to pull her hand from his. This couldn't be happening. They were about to get caught and hauled off to some lab somewhere or worse. This was no time to be getting jiggy with it. "Alec, I'm…" before she could protest Alec swooped in and kiss her.

At first he could feel the tension and resistance in her. It lasted about a second. All it took was a small tug on her hand and she tumbled across his legs. He cupped his hands behind her head, and she came alive in his arms. Her mouth opened under his and he took a hit to the gut. The sensation of her lips and tongue against his, knocked the air from his lungs and he fell back against the pipes. He tangled his fingers in her hair and held her tighter. Their tongues, tasting, stroking, each probing the other's mouth. Dizzying sensations flared through his body and he needed more. He wanted her closer, their oral connection wasn't enough. Max seemed to feel the same way.

Max tore at his sweater and pulled it up over his head, bending her head to taste and bite the soft flesh where his shoulder met his neck. Alec unzipped her leather jacket and groaned to find she was wearing only a baby black t-shirt underneath. He placed hot kissed down her throat and over her collarbone.

Alec knew he wouldn't be able to stand the sensations for long. Max running her fingers through his hair, over his chest, all while pleasuring his mouth with her lips and her tongue. The taste of her was driving him crazy. He couldn't believe he hadn't tried kissing her sooner. She tasted of cherries and the heady scent of her pheromones clouded his head, he felt like he was enveloped by her and it was a sensation he never wanted to escape. It wasn't long before all of their clothing had disappeared.

Making love to Max wasn't like any fantasy he'd ever had. There was both pain and spotty vision-inducing pleasure. Fantasies were for people who never experienced mind-numbing, skin-tingling, heart-stopping sensations. Fantasies were for people who never had their one wish turn into a reality. Alec would never be able to live with only fantasies anymore.

In the aftermath, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her tightly against him, trailing his hands up and down her back. Never had he experienced such reckless mindlessness. Not once had he given a thought to their surroundings or their dire circumstances. His orgasm had rocked him so fiercely that he'd stopped breathing. The only sound in his ears was the sound of her heart thundering against his chest and the feel of her around him. Her skin was damp with sweat, her hands stroked the base of his neck, and she held him in her embrace like he was the most important thing in her life. Her eyes locked with his and in their depths he saw something he never thought he'd see. Vulnerability and hope. He hugged her to his heart, and kissed the pulse point on her neck. She had just become his whole world.

Their breathing returned to normal and the cold chill began to settle on their skin. Max had been the first to move. She got up and began to dress. Alec still coming to terms with what just happened between them took awhile to move. She finished dressing before him. She had been awfully silent and for a terrifying moment he thought she might be regretting what happened and she was going to shut him out. The sound of her jacket zipper closing felt like a finality in his ears.

Max felt the surprised in his posture as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. "Why couldn't this have happened on a normal day," she whispered sadly.

"Since when do we ever have a normal day?" he said softly laughing.

Max jabbed him playfully in the ribs. "You know what I mean," she said nuzzling against his chest.

"Yeah, I do," he breathed into her hair. "I love you, Max."

He don't know why he said it. It just slipped out. He wasn't the type to mince words or overanalyze. He said what he thought, it was just his way. When she didn't respond, he thought perhaps it was one time he should have taken a page from Logan's book. The slow moving-sickly-endearing, "Be careful,"-guy. But then she'd cuddled deeper into his embrace and he'd relaxed. He'd almost screwed up a perfect moment. Now all they had to do was figure a way out of this mess.

Max's ears pricked up at the sound of heavy boots on the basement stairs. They'd found them. She froze and stared up at Alec.

He smiled his self-assured smile down at her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "It'll be alright, Max. I've got a plan."

Lying on his bunk, thinking back to that moment all those months ago, he wished there'd been more time. Just a few more minutes of holding her in his arms. He remembered the way he'd kissed her and wrestled her into the space behind the rusted boiler. She had argued, hit him and cried when he had flatly refused to let her fight. "They'll just take us both. Please Max, I want to do this," he begged.

The opening was just big enough for her to squeeze through. The cavity in the wall was completely blocked from view by the boiler. It was a perfect place to hide out of sight. Max had argued with him when he told her of his plan. He would fight his way out, making enough of a ruckus that they wouldn't bother to search the room. After they chased him, she would wait until she was sure they'd gone. An hour or two. If they caught him, she was not to try and help him. That part he emphasized several times. There's no point both of them getting caught. And they both knew if he was injured there was no way she could escape and carry him. He told her again that he loved her and kissed her till the banging on the doors told him it was time to let go.

With one last backward glance, he mouthed, 'I love you, Max,' and walked toward a spot opposite the barricaded double doors. One by one, he moved the drums till only a couple kept the doors closed. Then he stood to the side, to bide his time. He'd faired pretty well. He'd taken the first couple guys down before they even registered what was happening. He'd threw another guy in his way, into the wall and almost made it halfway up the stairs, before the sting of tasers caught up with him. His last thoughts had been of her before he blacked out. Please Max, just wait.


	4. Trouble

In the basement, Research facility

The sound of the doors clanging open reached her ears and she flinched. She stared into the darkness and counted. There it was - Alec was making a run for it, she held her breath. Gunfire erupted and angry voices shouted.

"Bullets bounce you idiot. Tasers."

From behind the boiler she could see flashes of light illuminating the room. There were other sounds. Sounds of bones connecting in impact, boots squeaking on the glazed cement floor, electric currents crackling alone wires, and then a low groan. Her heart thudded to a halt. Everything seemed to slow, voices blended in her ears, as she stared ahead, unblinking. Alec was down. She'd been praying for a miracle. That somehow, he'd overpower them and escape. A tear welled and spilled from the corner of her eye. She sat motionless. Every fiber of her body screamed for her to move, her muscles burned but her feet seemed rooted to the floor. Everything came roaring back in a rush and her blood pounded in her temples. Wait, he'd said.

"We have the transgenic…Okay, we'll be up top in five."

I can't wait, she pleaded inwardly. I can't let you go down alone. Her legs felt like lead but she forced herself to stand. Her hand on the boiler, she prepared to squeeze through the gap when something stopped her.

"Please Max, just wait."

It was as though he was right next to her. A chill ran over her skin. She sank to her knees and put her forehead against the long cold boiler. Another tear slipped down her cheek. How could she let him get taken while she stood back and let it happen? It wasn't too late, she could take them out and get him back. The could find another place to hide. They'd give up looking for them eventually. Or they could make a break for it together once he came around.

He'll hate you Max if you both get caught. He only asked you, no he begged you to wait. This macho male bravado is bullshit, she argued. What he really wanted was for her to stand with him. Shoulder to shoulder. That's how they'd always been. In every fight, they were in it together. Even before… before what Max? Even before you fell in love with him. That final thought made her chest hurt even more. White wouldn't be easy on him. He knew Alec. He knew Alec knew her.

Her hands closed into fists, squeezing till her nails drew blood. Would they ever be free? Her breathing grew ragged and she bit back a sob. Would it even matter now that Alec was gone?

It seemed like an eternity that she stayed there hunched over, barely breathing. After another heartbeat, she got to her feet and squeezed through the gap. She trained her ears. There were earthy sounds, crickets, an owl, a river in the distance, and nothing. They were gone.

With tired and partially numb limbs, she walked out of the room. A thought struck her and she launched into action. She could track them. It'd take her days on foot but she could do it. She'd track them down and then she'd call in back up. White wouldn't expect an attack on his turf. They might just pull it off. She broke into a run, taking flights of stairs and corridors in a blur, bursting out the main doors and into the night air. She drew in deep breaths, taking in the surroundings. The full moon cast an eerie shadow through the forest, and her breath misted in the chilly air. Her sixth sense kicked in and she activated her hearing again. The crickets had grown quiet.

Lydecker stretched his hand from under his camouflage. He hand signaled his companion to move in the direction of the building. His companion nodded. Silently, their got to their feet. There was a snap to their right and both men whirled at the sound. The third man in their party, still partially concealed from view, froze and looked sheepish.

Shaking his head, Lydecker proceeded to edge closer to the break in the trees. An arm whipped around his neck and his oxygen supply was swiftly diminished. He twisted his arm to aim his rifle at his attacker when a voice stilled his movement.

"I wouldn't try that. I can break your neck faster than you can pull that trigger."

"Max," Lydecker croaked with a knowing smile. He relaxed in her grasp and lowered his gun.

Max squeezed tighter, angered that he felt comfortable enough to lower his guard with her. "You let them take him," she spat. Spinning him around so that she could see his face, she shoved him against the nearest tree. Taking his rifle, she trained it on him. "Make a move, and I put half a dozen holes in him," she said to his two companions. Lydecker knew her aversion to guns but his lackeys didn't. She wouldn't use it, but she needed leverage. Even as she held it firmly against her shoulder, she shuddered inwardly. She would never use a gun on anyone, not even if it meant her life. Didn't mean she wouldn't use it as a deadly battering ram, if Lydecker tried to get cute.

"I had no choice," Lydecker said calmly.

"Like hell. You've got weapons, you could have given them hell. Or did you lose your nerve in your old age?" Max could have sworn she heard a snicker from one of the men, but brushed it off.

"I told you to come alone."

Max couldn't believe his nerve. "So you could hand me over to White and his Familiars? Is that the deal you made with them to save your own ass?"

Lydecker shook his head. "You're important Max. White knows that. Renfro knew that, it's why she took the bullet meant for you. White won't stop looking for you. You led him here. Not me."

"I'm going to track them. They're not going to get another transgenic." She emptied the chamber and removed the clip. Throwing the weapon down, she turned on her heel and walked away from him.

"I'm sorry, Max," she heard Lydecker say. "I can't let you do that."

Lydecker motioned to the taller of his companions and the man flew at Max tackling her to the ground.

Max fought him off and managed to get free of his grasp. Her mind registered that he had to be a transgenic too. He moved too fast for an ordinary and he was as strong as she was. Stronger, she admitted as his hand clamped down on her ankle.

Kicking his face, she got him to released her and she took off running. He caught up with her easily, his longer stride giving him a clear advantage. They both pitched forward and hit the ground in a roll. The momentum and the sudden incline kept them rolling and Max struggled to get her bearings.

The man seemed to sense danger and let go of her, grasping at the brush pasting them. Branches snapped, rocks cut through her clothes and dirt flicked into her face. Max clawed out, trying to slow her decent. She knew she had to stop. An incline like this meant two things, a long slow decent or a cliff, both of which could land her in a real mess at the end.

GK knew the terrain. They'd evaluated this site before choosing it for the meet. If he didn't slow down, they were going to go over and soon. He whipped out his hunting knife from it's sheath and gripping it tightly, buried it into the ground. The sudden stop caused his arm to jerk in his shoulder socket, but he didn't lose his grip.

"Grab my hand," he yelled out to Max.

Max stretched out her arm, ready to reach for him but a half exposed tree root threw her off center and she slid further away from him.

GK could only watch in horror as she went off the end of the precipice. He heard the roaring water below and the splash. She could survive the fall, depending on how and where she landed. He climbed his way up using exposed roots, rocks and his knife. When he reached more stable ground, he crawled to his feet. By the time he'd sheathed his knife and dusted off, Lydecker and the TAC soldier had caught up with him.

Wordlessly, Lydecker walked as close to the edge as his footing would allow and peered down into the dark abyss. With a grim look at GK, he nodded to the river. "Get down there."

"We should have brought Dex," GK said under his breath.

Lydecker narrowed his eyes at him. "What was that soldier?" 

"Dex, could have persuaded her to come," he answered, meeting his eyes levelly. Lydecker might be his superior in rank and in age but they weren't in Manticore anymore. He'd chosen to join the Colonel. This might be a combat unit, but they operated as a team. He didn't believe he was being insubordinate by answering. After all, he was just speaking aloud what they were all thinking. If they'd gone back with Dex instead of the TAC, they would have taken Max without a fight.

"And risk White's men getting three X5s instead of one? It would have been tactically irresponsible. It's bad enough that you didn't follow my order to stay behind. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been itching for a fight, son. Sometimes we need to use brains, not brawn."

GK bristled at that comment. He knew full well that Lydecker was referring to Dex. Hey, the guy was bred with more brain power. It wasn't a level playing field. "I'll go down and find her. Meet back at the rendezvous point." Before he had to listen to another pearl of wisdom from his boss' mouth, he took off down the incline.

Max felt a surge of air as the ground disappeared from beneath her. She felt weightless for all of a second before the sensation of a thousand daggers pieced through her as she hit the water. She sank to the river bed like a rock and kicked for the surface. Icy claws dug into her skin and she took a gulp of air before she was sucked under by the current. Her clothes which were cut like a second skin, clung to her body even tighter and made it almost impossible for her to keep her head above the churning torrent. Her boots felt like they suddenly weighed a ton and were dragging her down as fast as cement shoes would. Another rapid pulled her under and as she tried to fight her way up, her head rammed against a rock. She blacked out and her limp form was carried away by the current.

It took him a few minutes to reach the river. He scanned downstream and noticed the shape of a body half a klick away. He ran and found Max lying among some rotting tree branches. She was so still that for a frightening second, he thought she might be dead. That'd throw a spanner in Lydecker's plans for sure. He kneeling at her side, he put two tentative fingers to her jugular. She had a pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief. He rolled her over and hoisted her up over his head and rested her across his shoulders. She wheezed and groaned. He felt a trickle of something warm and sticky on his neck and his heart skipped a beat. They could check her out as soon as he got her back. "Don't die on me okay," he ordered her. Or Lydecker will have my hide.

Hours later - Infirmary, Lydecker's base of operations

A white-haired man, leaning heavily on his cane, closed the door and walked down the passage. He stopped next to Lydecker who was studying their patient through the observation window.

"How is she?" Lydecker asked folding his arms over his chest.

The doctor took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Replacing them, he glanced at Max before answering his companion. "She has a couple of bruised ribs, and a minor head injury. The scan showed no swelling on the brain, which has me concerned because she's still unresponsive."

Lydecker nodded in agreement but remained silent to allow his friend to continue his report. Max was an X5, they were fast healers, bred that way. He'd been monitoring her closely on the ride over, expecting at any moment to have to sedate her. Only she hadn't moved at all.

"I'm worried about her temperature. It's extremely high, as though her body is fighting off an infection but her white cell count was normal. I ran some labs and discovered she's carrying a strain of the Zycinor virus. How did that happen?"

"Manticore," Lydecker said tonelessly. He couldn't pass judgment on their actions, he'd done the same thing to numerous others, sometimes worse things - to his own kids. The memory of 'killing' Zack and burying him alive came to the forefront of his mind.

The old doctor shook his head, he'd left the project not long after the government took over. He'd been in two minds about it because of how much time and passion he'd invested in his vision. The plans they had for his work, his painstaking efforts, the long years, the many failed attempts along the way, were so far from his vision he couldn't stand to be a part of it. Yet he had hoped if he stayed on, that somehow he'd be able to save them. It was a fool's hope. In the end, others made the decision for him. His success had drawn unwanted attention from his peers. He'd left everything behind. In doing so he'd lost part of his spirit, fate was giving him a chance to be whole again.

"Should have guessed that one. I thought she was one of the '09'-ers?" he said to Lydecker with a frown.

"She was, but she was captured after we took out the base in Wyoming."

"I see, and they marked her with that nasty cocktail while she was there." It wasn't a question, he was just musing out loud, but Lydecker answered him anyway.

"Yeah, for Eyes Only."

The older man let out a soft whistle. "I never imagined her life would be this…"

"Unique?" Lydecker supplied.

Shaking his head, the doctor tapped his cane on the linoleum floor, thoughtfully. "She was unique from the start. I'll give her a shot to clear up the virus and we'll keep her IVs in as long as that fever lingers. Can you keep an eye on her?"

Lydecker nodded and stayed by the window as the old doctor walked away. He watched Max thrash in the bed. She was bathed in sweat and her hair clung to her scalp. He'd wait till she'd been administered the antidote for the virus. If she was still running a fever then, they'd have to consider hot and cold therapy to try to break it. Her injuries weren't severe enough to keep her comatose or running a temperature. If there was something else going on beneath the surface, he'd soon find out what it was.

It was another four hours before they noted any change. Her doctor was in the process of hooking a new of saline when Max mumbled something and went rigid on the bed.

"Is it the virus?" Lydecker asked suddenly concerned.

"No," the doctor answered, checking her monitors. Her heart rate had started to pick up slightly. She was regaining consciousness. He took out his penlight and checked her pupils. "Max?" he queried gently.

Max felt stiff and groggy, she blinked. The room rolled before her eyes and she quickly closed them again. "Who?" she asked confused. "Where am I?" she mumbled wearily.

"You're safe," the doctor assured her, lightly touching her arm. "Do you remember what happened?"

Max shook her head and immediately regretted the action as pain shot down her spine, and started a pounding in her skull. She reached up one hand and tentatively rubbed her temple. She tried opening her eyes again. Slowly things came into focus. The lighting wasn't too bright so it didn't aggravate her headache too much, but the heat of her body was making her feel dizzy again. She stared up at the kind face, looking down at her. "I know you…I think," she said softly, closing her eyes against the sudden wave of vertigo that washed over her. "You seem familiar."

The doctor smiled and shot a questioning look at Lydecker.

Max followed the doctor's gaze and her eyes narrowed. Instinctively, she tried to distance herself from him. The man didn't give her a good vibe. Unlike the doctor, this man looked gruff. His posture said he was schooled in training his emotions and his behavior. His eyes weren't kind, they seemed cold, hardened.

"I feel really groggy," she said weakly.

"You've had it rough," the doctor said. He rearranged the pillows behind her head. "We'll give you a bit of space to rest. Buzz me if you need anything." He moved away from the bed and motioned for Lydecker to follow.

Once they were outside the room, Lydecker pursed his lips at the closed door. "She recognized me too. I sense it."

"You think she's lying about having no memory?"

"No, I think her instincts are just finely honed. We don't have a good history."

The doctor put one hand in his pocket and grasped the handle on his cane. "We'll let her sleep and check back in an hour or two. It could be temporary." There was no reason for memory loss of that magnitude. Lydecker was a prominent figure in her life and she hadn't acknowledged him but for a slight movement. Her physical trauma had been minor. Now that she was conscious, he would run a few more tests to confirm, but he had an incling that what she was experiencing had more to do with psychology than physiology.

"I'll send for GK, he can stand guard."

The doctor raised his eyebrow, the corners of his lips twitching with a suppressed smirk. He knew better than to question the Colonel's decision, but he hardly thought their amnesiac warranted a X5 hall monitor.

"It's better to be prepared." Lydecker wasn't about to risk a repeat of history. Max always ran when she felt threatened. It was something ingrain. And it certainly wasn't something he'd nurtured. They were soldiers. Calculated retreat yes. Running away because things got too complicated, too tough or too scary, no way.


	5. Breaking down Alec

**Atlantic Ocean facility**

Alec hung his head as the guard paced in front of him. He spat the blood out of his mouth and tilted his head to catch the man's eye. "You actually know how to use that thing, I was beginning to think it was a prop," he taunted with a half-smirk.

The man raised his batten and thrashed the transgenic across the face. He grunted in satisfaction as he watched the X5 fall to one side, unconscious. The door to their room opened and White strode in, a scowl on his face. The man stood back, and allowed his superior to view their captive.

"I thought my message was clear," White spat. "What part of X5-452 did you not understand?" He glared at every Phalanx member in the room. When no one answered him, he crouched and inspected the unconscious transgenic on the floor with rough movements. "Guess it wasn't a total loss. They were breeding partners at Manticore and they always seems to pop-up together. Make him talk or use him, we'll see what the cat drags in." Giving one last disgusted look at the X5, he rubbed his hands on his pant-leg and stood. "Find me when he comes around. I'd like a word."

"Yes, sir."

Slamming the door behind him, White could barely contain his rage. He didn't want to count how many times the infuriating transgenic female had slipped through his fingers. Maybe it was the animal DNA that made her so apt at escape. 494 had co-operated before, the boy had been on the outside for about a year now, he wondered if that had changed him at all. Would it fuel his will to live and feed his self-preservation instincts, or had being around 452 corrupted him and made him a foolish idealist? He was itching to find out. The fact that they had brought back a transgenic was all that had pacified him enough not to throw one of them through the nearest window. It was obvious that Lydecker had been trying to reach Max. The message was implicit that she come alone. White had thought it had been a golden opportunity, almost too good to be true. Lydecker had been digging into the breeding cult, and obviously the hit the Conclave had ordered had failed. He'd resurfaced, and more than likely he was now involved with the resistance. Why else would he be after 452? Two birds with one strike. What more could a guy ask for?

"Soon, 452. I'm a very patient man, I can wait. You have a habit of meddling in my affairs, and the next time will be your last," he pledged coldly.

An hour later

Alec stirred and immediately bit back an instinctive groan. His bruised organs were screaming for care but he knew no relief was going to be forthcoming. His brain registered that his hands were tied above him and he was clothes were sticking to him, where the blood had dried. A few of the sores had already begun to re-open as gravity slowly tugged the material away from his body.

Must have passed out again, he mused somberly. He vaguely remembered the sensation of being dragged along the floor. He couldn't remember much more than that. They must have moved him because he was in a much larger space. Looked like an empty warehouse and he was in a cage. Brilliant, he thought to himself. What White lacked in creativity, he certainly made up for in brutality. He'd up-ed the punishment from last time. Last go around, he'd gotten a jolt of a few hundred volts and a little nick in the neck where they'd injected the micro-explosive. Knowing it could easily be removed by a skilled hand, he wished that's all he'd gotten this time. He would have happily risked getting blown up or shot at while making a run for it at this point.

With the way the Kevlar straps dug into his wrists, and the fire and ice sensations crawling over his body, it made it difficult to concentrate. All the yelling in his sensitive ears and the zaps or beatings didn't help either. Thankfully they were giving him a time out. He just had to focus a little longer. He had to construct his mental sanctuary. In doing so, he could live in an alternate reality, one where he didn't have to deal with the threats, fear or the pain. In that consciousness, he was free.

He already know where he wanted to be - back in her arms. He could still feel the ghost of her lips pressed against his. The lush full rosy lips, the sweetness of cherries, the heat of her tongue. A tear escaped the corner of his tightly closed lids. His body ached with a new pain. He wanted to hold her again. He wanted to hear the strong, comforting beat of her heart. A rhythm that he'd memorized and one that he could pick from a crowd. In the bustle of Terminal City, he could feel her even before she spoke. He could hear the soft footfall, the steady heartbeat, the scent that was her own, his Max. The muscles in his chest wrenched, choking the breath out of him. If they knew the pain he suffered in his heart, he'd be a doomed man.

It was crazy how easily she'd become so central in his life. The first time he'd laid eyes on her, he known she was trouble. When they'd told him his assignment, he'd groaned inwardly. He should have known there was always a calm before the storm. The last few missions he'd been given were a breeze. A welcome relief because after the Berrisford assignment. He had wanted to do everything by the book and he did. He'd played the perfect little soldier. He wanted to stay as far away from PSYOPs and re-indoctrination as he could. Landing an '09 escapee, he knew he was in for a rough ride. Getting inside her head wasn't going to be easy, and getting her to follow orders was going to be even worse. She spurned everything Manticore, how the heck was he going to get her to jump on board with their new breeding plan? Funnily enough, he thought if he was blasé about it, that she might just go easy on him. She had to know that the order was as degrading for him as it was for her. In reality, it had been her fault they'd ended up in this predicament in the first place. If she hadn't blown up the lab, they'd still be growing test tube babies. However, she had been far from sympathetic to his plight and given him a good impression of just how much she cared about him and Manticore. If he admitted the truth, he had expected as much. The X5s that had been left behind after '09 had come to think of the escapees as selfish traitors. Yes, growing up at Manticore sucked, but it got 100 times worse when they'd been old enough to deploy. It would have made things a little bit easier had they been spared being separated so young, and the invasive stint in PSYOPs. Believe it or not, he'd once felt like a part of a family. Their unit, the twins of the '09ers, had started out close but after being delegated to different units and years on, most of them were practically strangers.

Max and his relationship, if you could call it that, had been one disaster run-in after another. God knows he'd tried to stay out of her way. He now realized that at first he'd stayed in Washington because subconsciously he wanted to know what had happened to Rachel. After his run in with White, he knew he owed Max for saving his life and there was no way he was leaving town without repaying that debt. He hadn't wanted to crash her every circle, but the universe had other ideas. They kept getting thrown together - the failed baseball heist, looking for a job at Jam Pony, and Crash. So he'd known that she worked there, but how could he pass up an opportunity to score a valuable piece of ID and a steady paycheck? Normal had mentioned he ran a courier service when they'd had a drink after a Monte Cora fight. It was only one drink, but since Normal had been a fan, he figured he could land a job. He hadn't been wrong, and not everyone in Max's life and thought he was the plague. Sketchy adopted him as his number one wing-man, Normal was so friendly it was scary and even OC was nice. And Crash, well it had been the only decent watering hole within reasonable traveling distance.

Guilt had kept him around, even with all the bitching, slapping and scowling. He felt guilty for trying to kill her and Joshua, and he felt bad for ruining her chance at finding a cure for the virus. He'd tried to track the doctor down but he'd disappeared. With the money the guy had landed in one night, he really wasn't that surprised. Knowing the NSA was breathing down his neck, and possibly other transgenics, he'd counted his dough and split.

Alec couldn't pin-point an exact time when he'd started to notice her. Sure she was made beautiful, but with her constant scowl, it kind of made it hard to appreciate. Made it was when she'd saved him from Robert Berrisford. It was first time he'd felt like she actually cared if he were to wind up dead. After all, the "give me an anvil and watch me go," kind of stuck. Or maybe it was the time they'd been in the closet together and she'd been so gung-go about getting this temporary cure, it had made him wonder what it would be like to have someone that devoted to him. They hadn't even made third base before, yet she had hung all her hopes on a maybe.

He'd known something was up when he'd gotten this uncomfortable lump in his throat during their group hug after Annie died. Or maybe it was even before that, when she'd rescued him from death-row and told him about Ben. Anyway, it was a whole bunch of little things, and he'd started to fall for her. The glimpses he'd seen of the true beauty behind the 'bad ass' façade, the selfless woman who hung it all on the line time and again for the ones she cared about. The smile that formed her lush lips into a perfect bow and brought a sparkle of life to her eyes, and made you feel special to have brought a small measure of joy to her day. He hated that she had been forced into a sense of responsibility for everyone from Manticore. Max had a bleeding heart, and that burden seemed to zap the life out of her. A few talks with OC revealed that Max had once been carefree. Well as relatively carefree as they could be considering their origins. It pained him to see the defeated look in her eyes, and the slouch in her posture when she thought nobody was watching. She was always wound up so tight, it was a wonder she could pull off the moves she did when it came to a fight. As the months drew on, he found himself wishing he could be the one she turned to for help instead of Logan. So he wasn't a whiz with computers but he was resourceful and he knew underworld guys that were more than handy in a pinch. Most of all, he was highly trained and loyal. If only she would trust him more, have more faith in him.

He closed his eyes and pictured her face again - her cheeks streaked with tears and her large chocolate brown eyes glistening wet, dark lashes clumped together - she had finally saw him. Not the pain-in-the-ass, always getting in trouble, screw up, smart-Alec as she'd pegged him, but the "I care about you…I have your back…I'll do anything for you," side he'd been waiting for her to recognize. The knowledge had warmed his soul and given him a huge burst of pride. It had also given him the courage to see his plan through. He knew there was a good chance he'd be caught but none of it mattered as long as she stayed free. He hadn't been able to save Rachel and he'd be damned if he didn't protect Max.

Instinct told him that she was safe. He was sure he'd know it in his bones if she wasn't. His plan had worked. If White had her, he'd be dead. There would be no reason to keep him alive, he had no value. He wasn't important. The memory of her, he would keep locked away in his heart. He would never betray her to them, he would die to protect her. His raven-haired angel would be safely hidden in the deepest recesses of his mind. He would continue to plead ignorance and indifference. There would be pain. Lots of pain. Fortunately for him, he was fairly certain that they weren't nearly as advanced in their methods of persuasion as Manticore. The thought of PSYOPs sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. He had spent more time there than any other transgenic he knew. First time had been because of the '09 escapees, second time was because of Ben, his twin, and third time, well he couldn't blame that one on anyone else but himself.

The steel door below screeched open and Alec's eardrums bled in protest. They had bombarded most of his body's receptors already. Noise pollution, blunt and electric weapons, water and a hot iron, and at one point they'd even had a go with their boots. Obviously, bodily contact was above them. They seemed loathed to touch him. The guards that propped him up or moved him seemed to be outsiders, hired muscle? They looked different to White's men, and they weren't involved in his interrogation, for all he knew they could be deaf-mute.

"Well, well. You're a sight to behold. I'm disappointed 494, I thought you would have learned by now that your 'summer fling' was trouble. Looks like she left you holding the bag this time." White smiled unrepentantly. "I know she was there. And we will find her in due time. You see, it's too important for us not too. This isn't about our little transgenic vendetta, as your kind like to call it, and unfortunately I might have to sacrifice finding my son, but all for the cause," he finished only loud enough for Alec's transgenic hearing to pick up.

"What makes you think that she even cares about any of the stuff you and your Familiars do?" Alec asked with a scoff. He regretted speaking then because his chest expanded drawing in a deep breath at the effort, causing a partially scabbed wound to open. He tilted his chin up so White wouldn't see the grimace that contorted his face momentarily.

White smirked to himself. He didn't need to see 494's face to know he was in pain. He'd seen some of the wounds and his posture was rigid. If he were coping, he'd be fringing a relaxed composure. "We have a word for your type in Minoan, _Sesenia_, it's like clown or jester. Always playing the fool. You'll break, and I'll make sure we bring her in to see you before we put you down." White looked up at him and gave him a tight smile. "I'm nothing if not humane. I wouldn't want you to have to watch what I do to her."

Alec tried not to react but the images flashed in his mind's eye before he could stop them. His heart launched into his throat and his eyes widened. His body pulled against his restraints. He bit his tongue to keep the curses and violent threats from leaping out of his mouth.

White noted every one of 494's responses and chuckled to himself as he walked away. He was going to enjoy keeping a captive for a change. He'd watch from a distance, and just when the transgenic was at breaking point, he'd pay him another visit and push him over the edge. It'd be fun. Like blood to a fox, they took the bait every time.

**Months later**

GK read the number on the cell door. Room 213. They'd taken the emergency escape stairs, and so far they'd stayed under the radar. The blueprints that Lydecker had showed them in their briefing had given them a direct route to the area where they were keeping the X5. The only thing they weren't sure of was what condition he was in, or if he was still here.

The guards they'd noticed on the way in said that they were still holding someone. Lydecker's source in D.C. said that most transgenics were shipped directly to Alcatraz Island for de-briefing and processing. A couple of months ago, one had been shipped offshore by an ex-NSA operative. It had been an unsanctioned transfer and he'd gotten wind of it since Lydecker had asked him to keep feelers out for anything suspicious involving ex-Special Agent Ames White or Sentor McKinley. Considering it had happened almost four months ago, there was no telling if the transgenic was still alive.

Dex pulled out the access keys he'd taken from one of the guards and swiped the ID tag through the security panel. "You know, sometimes a little manipulation makes life easier."

Rolling his eyes, GK gave a quick glance over his shoulder before giving Dex the nod to go inside. "So long as you don't get any ideas of doing any mojo on me, we're good," he whispered harshly.

Dex grinned, his gray-colored eyes taking on a dark stormy shade. "Like you'd ever know," he said with a soft chuckle. Surveying the room, he let out a low whistle. "Man, they worked him over." He dropped the pack from his shoulder and started rummaging through it. He dug out some of his spare clothes, a pair of dungarees and a black tee, tossing them on the bed, he searched the bag again. Finding the small silver tin, he cracked it open and pulled out a syringe. Uncapping it, he rolled the X5 onto his back and injected the liquid into the man's heart.

Alec felt a sharp cold sting in his chest, and then energy surged through his body like wildfire. His eyes snapped open. He'd been swimming an a dark abyss and everything suddenly flooded into white light before simmering back to regular color. He sat up and stretched his aching muscles. He felt more alive than he had in what seemed like a lifetime and he quickly registered the cold. And that he had an audience.

"Get dressed," GK ordered with a tilt of his P90 automatic rifle.

Alec didn't miss the unspoken threat and happily complied. He wasn't comfortable being naked anymore than these two seemed to be seeing him that way. His heart was thundering away in his chest and his legs burned with the urge to run. Spying the needle the other man was putting away, he guessed they must have given him a shot of adrenaline. What the hell for? Was this another amateur mind game to get him to give up information or lead them to Max? "What do you want?" his voice came out in a hoarse whisper. It barely registered even to his own ears and he wondered it they'd heard him. It had been so long since he'd used his voice.

"Colonel Lydecker coordinated this mission to retrieve you," GK supplied, and started to back out the door to check the corridor again. They would have a few minutes before a guard would come down this way but it didn't mean they could waste time with idle chit-chat.

Dex finished re-packing his bag and put it back on his back. He wasn't packing like GK, well not obviously anyway. He had a concealed pistol in his right leg holster, but he wasn't planning on using it. GK earned his name because of his penchant for weapons. He never went anywhere without his glock or his 9-inch hunting blade. He slept with one, fully loaded, under his pillow and the other under the bed, strapped to his belt. They both had the same weapons training from Manticore, but he just felt that conventional weapons were unnecessary. He hadn't run into a scenario yet, he couldn't get himself out of without resorting to violence. "Time to go, you can ask questions on the way."

Alec hesitated. It could be another trick. White knew Lydecker. White knew a lot about Manticore. This could be another ploy, and whether he co-operated or not, the result wouldn't be good. He studied the man in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I know you," he said cocking his head in thought. The man's face seemed awfully familiar.

Dex frowned but grinned inwardly. He knew the X5 was remembering him from Manticore. He'd been one of the PSYOPs units that had been assigned to test and assess 494's mental state. He'd enjoyed feeding thoughts into the transgenic's mind. He was one of the few that could project emotions as well as thoughts. He had watched him wrestle with false memories. He'd been ordered to feed him scenarios pulled from reports on his twin, X5-493. They wanted to see if faced with similar circumstances and emotional stresses as his twin, would he have a psychotic break and go on a killing spree too. 494 proved to be a worthy mental challenge. He didn't break and he'd even developed an impressive defensive mechanism against mental torture. It was probably what helped him survive White this long, Dex mused. He felt a tinge of pride at that. Manticore was brutal but it had made them who they were today. They were bred and trained to survive at all costs. With everything they had to face now, he was glad for that.

"What are you going by nowdays?" Dex asked.

"Alec," he said warily. He still couldn't place the guy. It was like on the fringes of his memory, the foggy edges, just beyond reach. He guessed they were both Manticore. They looked around his age and they were trained in combat, it was the way they carried themselves. Obviously from another X5 unit. He wished he could place where he knew the gray-eyed one from, it was bugging him.

"The name's Dex, and that's GK. Look, you can rot here with White or you can come with us. The only condition we have is that you agree to our terms," he said succinctly.

"What are your terms," Alec asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You report to your commanding officer, Colonel Lydecker, for debrief," Dex said tonelessly.

Alec rolled his eyes. Go back to good 'ol Manticore. The days where he thought of Manticore as home were long over. He'd be trading one prison for another. The edges of his lips tugged up in a smirk.

"It's not what you think," GK cut in. "This is what we trained for. It's paid work and we've got a mission."

"Yeah, my mission's called getting a life. No thanks, I think I'll take my chances," Alec said with a scoff.

Dex sighed, he looked Alec in the eye and spoke down to him in hushed tones. "You'll agree to our terms, and when you see Colonel Lydecker, you'll listen to everything he has to say with an open mind. Now let's go."

Alec blinked a couple times and got to his feet. Shaking his head as if he just woke up from a daze, he ran a hand through his hair. "So are we busting out of here or what?" he shot the two men an impatient look.

Dex smirked and GK rolled his eyes. The man just couldn't help himself. Oh well, to hell with it. Lydecker could get into them later. He'd wanted them to give Alec an ultimatum and leave it at that. He was sure that the X5 would prefer freedom than inevitable death. Obviously he'd underestimated how much the man despised Manticore. Time on the outside had turned him. Maybe their CO wouldn't notice. He'd get a captive audience after all, what more could he ask for?

As Alec forged ahead of them down the corridor, GK caught Dex's arm. "Next time, try to stick to the plan."

Dex nodded and gave his buddy one of his trademark mind-bending smiles. "Sure thing, GK."

They made it to the boat before an alarm sounded. They had anchored the boat near a buoy several klicks away and swam up to the ex-testing facility platform. An engine approaching would have drawn too much attention. Alec kept up the pace and GK was impressed considering his battered condition. Once they were on their way, Dex would have to check him over a little better. The adrenaline shot would be wearing off soon and now doubt the physical strain he'd just exerted would hit him hard.

GK started the engine and pushed the throttle into high gear. They were well out of spotting range when the sound of helicopter rotors reached his ears. White's men would have trouble trying to find them in open water, and without lights, they'd have no problem disappearing into the night.

Dex caught Alec when his body sagged. "Easy, relax, you need rest. Ol' doc will check you out when we get back. Feel like a drink?"

Alec could barely nod but grinned weakly when Dex offered him a small flask. He took a deep swallow, the honey liquid burning a warm, comforting trail down his throat. His lids slid closed and as he felt a shell surround him shutting out the cold air and ocean spray, he surrendered to his fatigue.


	6. Fever

**Isolation room**

"Max, I'm trying to help you. You need to stop fighting," the doctor said tiredly. He had done his best to be patient but after months of the same, her situation was wearing on him. All that kept him from chemically inducing a coma was the knowledge that she wasn't deliberately trying to make his life difficult. In his haste to create a superior human he hadn't given a lot of thought to the side effects of using certain genetics sequences.

After moping her face, he dipped the cloth in the bowl of icy water and wrung it out. Bringing it to her forehead again, he gently wiped away the perspiration there. He saw the same look in her eyes now as he had the first time he'd met her. Bewildered, yet trusting eyes. She had been such a small child. He'd picked her up and she'd weighed almost nothing to hold. Both his own children had been robust. She had seemed so fragile, the way she'd timidly clung to him as he hugged her only emphasized that impression. "I have to give you another injection." As her eyes grew wide with fear, he squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I know you hate needles but it'll be quick and you'll feel better." At least for a little while he thought numbly.

He did it as quickly and as gently as possible. Doing his best to distract her with conversation as he put the needle in her arm. The drugs he had to give her were getting steadily stronger. Her body had quickly adapted to the muscle relaxants and he'd had to step up to heavy sedatives. They were now onto the last drug. Once her metabolism adjusted to the new drugs, they wouldn't be able to offer her relief.

When it had first appeared, he hadn't been sure of what to make of it. Lydecker had known. Having been at Manticore longer than he had, Lydecker had seen it happen before. Heat cycles. Although, from documented reports the intensity, duration and treatment were nothing close to this. At first they'd thought if they just gave it time the problem would resolve itself. From experience, Lydecker had said the episode lasted no longer than a couple days. A shorter time if the subject was mated.

They had gone with the first option because he hadn't been comfortable with the second scenario. He had a feeling that Max wouldn't have enjoyed the experience. Common sense told him that it was a genetic urge. Any enjoyment derived from the experience would be short-lived once the hormonal frenzy past, leaving only guilt, disgust and possibly hate - for ones self, the other party and Manticore in it's place. The latter being partly, or in her case mostly his fault. After a week the symptoms hadn't passed, and the second scenario had presented itself uninvited. He shuddered at the memory.

Previously

Daytime watch was given to a TAC guard, but he had the honor of taking night watch. If it hadn't come down to priority in delegation of resources, he would have been stuck with both. Playing bodyguard to the Doc while he took a supply run to Seattle had never been such a welcome relief. He had been relieved of the mantle of guarding their X5 'prisoner' for the last few weeks to take the trip. Thank God for small mercies.

He'd sensed something as he walked down the corridor, but he'd shaken it off. With a nod to the TAC, he relieved the man's post and rotated his ankles in readiness for what he anticipated to be a long, uncomfortable night. He was in the middle of angling his neck to stretch out a tense muscle when he froze. The strong smell invaded his nose, every hair on his body stood on end. Blood rushed to one forbidden region of his body and in that same instance he whirled on the door. With one kick, he broke the lock. It seemed to have slipped his mind that he had a key pass.

GK burst through the door and had practically launched himself at Max. She had no way to defend herself because of her weakened state and barely had a chance to register what was happening, he'd moved so quickly.

Straddling her on the bed, GK leaned down growling in deep primitive tones. "I'll mark you mine," he smirked, his eyes smoky with desire.

The heat in her body sailed higher than she thought possible. She wreathed under his weight, and her eyes rolled back in her head when she felt his hot breath fan her sweat-moistened skin. Max opened her eyes again and through a foggy haze she saw him, his dark head dipping as he tasted her skin. Her body was responding to his every touch but her heart twisted in her chest. Why didn't she feel right?

**Lydecker's office**

The doctor paced behind Lydecker as he sat in his high-back swivel chair. "Did Renfro say anything else to you, the last time you spoke?"

"We spoke twice the day Manticore was destroyed. She called me when she got the results of Max's DNA workup. The second time we spoke, she was worried that Eyes Only would expose the Project before she had a chance to smuggle Max out of the country."

"With the Conclave looking for Louis Sandeman, it's a wonder you came back," Lydecker said with a smirk.

"Someone had to clean up the mess you made," Sandeman said with a laugh. "That aside, the day is coming to an end. Our time is almost up. I have my technicians working on the final stages of the vaccine. I don't have any concerns about that. What bothers me is that her cycle still hasn't broken."

It had been almost a month now and he could see the exhaustion in her. Her body couldn't continue to function in this state. Soon her organs would begin to shut down. They were playing a dangerous balancing act already medicating her to offer some comfort. "Has there ever been a case like this before?"

"I've searched Renfro's database, there was nothing. They were actually working on a way to suppress the cycles, something similar to Depo-Provera but after they lost the lab in Wyoming, they abandoned the project for the breeding program instead."

Sandeman was pondering the possible effectiveness a dose of regular Depo when something caught his eye. It was the small video window in the corner of Lydecker's laptop screen. "Enlarge that."

Lydecker maximized the window and he swore at the same time he heard his friend's sharp intake of breath. "What the hell is he doing?"

Sandeman stood back as Lydecker shot out of his chair and he was two steps behind him as he wrenched open the door. "We should have taken precautions."

"I'll kill him," Lydecker spat. The idea had crossed his mind when Max's condition continued to deteriorate was he'd known better. She would hate herself and him if he allowed it to happen.

Infirmary

In her mind's eye a figure came into view. She couldn't make out his face but he had soft, dirty blonde hair and although she couldn't see his features, she felt the warmth of his smile. His touch was gentle, yet confident. She felt loved and safe in his embrace. He cherished her and the memory of it soothed her heated brain. Rough hands brought her consciousness snapping to the present and a lump formed in her throat.

The warning in her heart she'd felt before surged forward with more urgency. "Stop," she said firmly, trying to push at his chest.

The movement of her arms, sent another waft of her pheromones through his senses and GK shook as his self control took a final hit. His brain was so far gone that her resistance didn't even register. All his focus had been diverted to one thing - quenching his lust.

"Get off her now," Lydecker ordered.

Max's gaze flew to the door where the commanding voice had emanated from. She couldn't see him but his voice was chillingly familiar.

GK whipped his head back to glare at their intruder. He was ready to rip the man to shreds, it was an instinctive reaction. The voice nor the face registered till his focus caught the cold glare in the man's eyes. He meant business and he had no fear that he'd riled a trained killing machine.

When GK moved his head, Max could see who was at the door. Her heart lurched in her chest. The man pointed a gun at them.

"Get up slowly and move away from the bed." He kept the gun trained on GK, noting that the younger man was breathing heavily and there was a glazed look in his eyes. He had taken on an X5 numerous times before but not without back up. At this point he wasn't even sure if he was subduing one or two X5s. He was hoping that Max was still lucid enough to be thankful for his intervention. He chanced a glance at her - a mistake.

Max sat upright and unmoving in the bed, the shredded remains of her gown clutched tightly over her chest but it was her face that chased all thought from his mind. It was a mask of terror. Her focus was trained on the gun in his hand. Damn it he had completely forgotten about her gun-phobia.

Max stared at the gun. A memory flashed before her eyes. A bright light enveloped her and a single shot rang out. She trembled as a cold chill brought only by pain and fear wrenched her heart. Eva fell to the ground in front of her, a crimson patch spreading across the front of her gray gown. The glare of light faded and his face came into view. The face of the man she both hated and feared. Lydecker.

"You killed her," she screamed.

In the moment Lydecker had taken his eyes off GK, the younger man had launched off the bed. Two darts sailed past his arm, hitting GK in the chest.

As he slumped to his knees, Sandeman hurried past and caught the X5 before he hit the floor. Laying him down gently, he quickly went to restrain Max who was scrambling off the bed.

Sandeman struggled to hold Max as Lydecker stood frozen. "Get out," Sandeman snapped with a grunt.

Lydecker shook himself out of his stunned reverie, dragged GK out of the room and down the corridor. He couldn't believe how quickly his friend had reacted and that he'd come prepared. He'd been so angry at the young X5s behavior that he hadn't had enough sense to think about drugging the man, instead of threatening to shoot him.

With Lydecker and the X5 out of sight, Sandeman managed to calm Max somewhat. "You'll be okay. They're gone. You're safe now," he said guiding her back to the bed.

"He killed her," she cried bitterly. "He killed Eva."

Sandeman felt a pang of sadness for her. He'd read a few of early reports on all the X-series. He knew Lydecker had shot one of the young females because she'd attacked a guard and trained a gun on him. He had acted in self defense. They were trained to use weapons, hell they were weapons, what sane man wouldn't have taken the same course of action? But he knew in Max's eyes, Lydecker had shot a child, her sister, without hesitation or remorse. "I'll bring you some new clothes. Do you need anything else?"

"Could I have a shower?" she asked numbly.

"Of course. And I'll find you another room," he said casting a nod in the direction of the door. "To keep them out." He offered her a small smile and was relieved to see it returned even though forced.

After the doctor left, the smile fell from Max's face. She had to escape. She wasn't safe. The doctor couldn't keep her safe from Lydecker. There had been dozens of doctors and nurses at Manticore and none of them had ever stood up to Lydecker's orders. None of them had stopped to think about the brutality of their treatment or lift a hand to stop it. Now if only she could keep her traitorous body under control long enough to co-ordinate an escape.

Infirmary - present day

Sandeman studied the younger man. There was very little of his skin that wasn't bruised or a fading bruise, yet he didn't flinch when touched. He was a picture of controlled emotion. There was none of the charismatic flippant attitude he received from Dex or GK, which he'd come to attribute as regular X5 behavior. He began to wonder if White's interrogation had actually done neurological damage. From what Lydecker told him about this X5, he was extremely talented. One of Manticore's best. The most refined soldier in his unit and CO to many teams of younger X-series. He excelled in improvisation of any given situation and had a talent with explosives and computers. A bit of a MacGyver, you could say. It was also noted that he'd proven to have a natural ability with music. Sandeman wondered if that stemmed from something specific in his genetic code or the superior mind they'd fostered. Perhaps both. Alec had even earned the respect of many of the guards at Manticore. Definitely a man with many hidden talents.

"You reset the breaks yourself didn't you," Sandeman said quietly. It was more of an observation than a question, he'd seen the fracture scarring on the X-rays. If they'd been set properly there wouldn't have been so much scarring. X-series were born with free floating stems cells that repaired bone, tissue and muscle damage quickly. Because the bones had been broken repeatedly without time to heal, his body was a wreck. Rest would fix the physical injuries, only time would tell if the rest of him would. At this point he was willing to try anything to coax a response out of the man.

Alec didn't answer. He couldn't be bothered. The doctor seemed nice enough, genuine even, but he was too tired to care. He felt like he could sleep away the rest of his life but he knew Lydecker wouldn't let that happen. He found himself dreading their meeting, yet he was also curious. Why did the man care if he had another X5? He had two able-bodied men already. Why go to all the trouble of getting one from under White's nose, when there were plenty in Terminal City or roaming the Washington countryside? There were those questions and about a dozen others he could think of but if Lydecker was anything like Sandoval, answers weren't going to be forthcoming.

Sandeman's office

Lydecker stood by the viewing window observing the X5 through the two-way mirror. "How is he?"

"Physically, he's in poor shape but he'll heal. Nothing critical. Some food and rest and he'll be good as new.. ." Sandeman set his notes aside and gripped the handle of his cane.

Sensing that something was troubling his friend, Lydecker turned from the window and took a seat on the edge of the desk. "But?" he prompted.

"He seems--" He wasn't sure if broken was the right word for it. Broken implied that the problem couldn't be fixed and he was sure it wasn't that final. Than man chose to be emotionally detached. A defense mechanism. Was he worried the relative safety he was feeling right now was going to be ripped away from him again? "Guarded. Psychologically, I wonder if Ames didn't cause serious damage. No amount of care on my part even prompted a flicker of any emotion in his eyes."

Lydecker simply nodded. He'd suspected Alec to be cautious. Dex had told him the name X5-494 had chosen to go by. They were trained to be weary of their surroundings, suspicious of everyone's intentions. He hadn't expected any less of Alec. Their meeting was going to prove interesting. "Did he ask you anything?

"Didn't say a word."

Getting to his feet, Lydecker headed to the door. He turned to his friend when he reached for the handle. "Give him a transfusion boost, some food and a couple hours rest, then I'll see him."

Infirmary

When he woke up, Alec found a hot meal waiting for him. It was the first real food he'd tasted in months. He'd tried to savor the experience but his gut didn't give him the luxury. He found himself shoveling the food down, barely tasting it. No sooner had he rested his cutlery on the plate, when GK appeared.

"Time to see the man, let's go Alec."

Alec followed him out of the infirmary and up a short flight of stairs to Lydecker's office. With a nod to his superior, GK left them.

"Take a seat, son," Lydecker said with a wave to the armchair.

Alec took the seat despite the discomfort he felt at the address. He wasn't anyone's son, least of all someone from Manticore. For a few hours sleep he felt surprisingly invigorated. He knew it was because of the pint of new transgenic blood roving his system but no matter how many times he experienced it, he still couldn't get over how impressively they had designed them to heal. "What do you want from me?"

Lydecker folded his hands on the desk and gave him a wary half-smile. "We'll get to that. First I want to know what you told White."

Alec wanted to laugh, but he didn't. He stopped his eyes from widening in disbelief at the ridiculous implication of the question too. Instead it seemed his witty self decided to resurface. "You think there'd be anything left of me if I had?" he asked in a casual tone.

Lydecker narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in the chair. "Telling can be just as easy as not saying anything. Betrayal of information by body language, iris response, perspiration, heartbeat. And there are plenty of things we can reveal involuntarily with chemical persuasion," he finished coldly.

Alec met his gaze unflinchingly. He was well versed in methods of extracting information. It was part of basic mission training. He didn't need reminding of how easily a person could break. "I told him he could kiss my ass several times. I told him how disappointed his momma would be in him, how disappointed Wendy would be if she saw him now - oh wait, he killed her. Give me a minute and I'll recollect all the other things I said, but they were all pretty much along those lines," Alec finished with a snort.

Lydecker leaned forward in his chair and grit his teeth. "You said nothing about Max."

Alec's eyes narrowed. "I'll tell you what I told him. She was a summer fling. She let me out of Manticore and I'm grateful, but we're hardly chums."

"Play dumb if you like but you we both know you had no business being at that station, unless you were with Max. You see, after you were captured she had it in her head that she'd rescue you. I couldn't let that happen. She's too important."

Alec felt a chill settle over him and his heartbeat quickened. What was he saying? Did he have Max? Despite the urge to shout the question at the man, he found himself staying strangely silent.

Lydecker looked at the expression on Alec's face. Something wasn't right here. He had half expected Alec to vault over the table and demand to know where Max was but he hadn't moved. In fact he was almost ramrod straight and barely breathing. Dex, he seethed silently. It was all clicking into place. Alec hadn't tried to escape - not once and he'd been given ample opportunity. Yes, there was Dex and GK but they weren't always around and the guard presence was hardly the level White employed. Then there was this compliant, soldier like behavior. With the exception of a little smart mouthing, he hadn't done anything that would cause a commanding officer to do more than raise an eyebrow. What part of his orders had Dex misunderstood this time?

Lydecker had half a mind of going to track down the man now and grill him on how much of Alec's behavior he'd programmed. Sometimes he wondered if he allowed the X5 too much freedom to use his ability. An electronic shielding device protected him from the effects of Dex's mind control, so he could easily give the man an earful right now without interference. It would have to wait. He tuned his attention back to Alec. Obviously talking wasn't going to get him an honest response. He stood.

"Let's take a walk."

Isolation room

Alec followed Lydecker down a maze of hallways to a single door. It seemed this place was cut off from the rest of the laboratories and offices they'd passed. A strange feeling bristled at the back of his neck but before he could ponder it more, Lydecker spoke up.

"We've had to keep her here for her own safety. If you need me, just knock."

Alec nodded numbly while Lydecker keyed in his code and turned the handle on the door. It wasn't till after he'd stepped into the room and Lydecker had closed it behind him that the cloud lifted. The whole time he'd been in the other man's presence he felt like his strings were being pulled. Like he was in a dream where he was seeing, hearing and feeling but someone else was in the drivers seat.

Max sensed them before the door opened and she sat up in the cot. A familiar scent touched her nose. It was a unique masculine smell, heady and nerve tingling pheromones mingled with the soft fresh smell of soap. It immediately stoked the fire in her body, flooding through her and settling as a heavy throb in her pelvis. She shivered involuntarily and moistened her dry lips.

In the darkness, his eyes locked on her. It was as though he was drawn to her by an invisible force and he found himself slowly to her, his feet moving on their own accord. Her scent filled his head and suddenly everything faded into fog but her face. "Max."

His voice felt like soothing music to her aching body. She rushed to him and wound her arms around him, hugging him tight. "Alec," she said his name falling from her tongue. She didn't remember him but instinctively she knew he was special to her. His name was there. When she saw his face, the name had formed on her lips. She knew it was right, it felt right. He felt right.

Her warm body pressed against his and warning bells clanged in his brain. 'Heat. This time it is heat. You need to get out right now.' Already he was forgetting all the reasons why this shouldn't happen and was leaning down to take her full red lips.

Max felt her mouth go dry as she felt him flush against her. Her legs trembled and she tightened her grasp on his shoulders to stay upright. She watched as his tongue snaked out to moisten his bottom lip and she bit hers at the uncontrollable urge to rip all his clothes off right then.

Kiss me, her brain screamed. "Alec, God I need you," she whispered her eyes watering with a new sensation gripping at her heart. It was as thought she would break apart if he didn't come to her now. She could sense he was in two minds, it was in his eyes. His eyes never lied. Tentatively she kissed the hollow at the base of his throat. Feeling his hands grip her hips, she rocked against him and planted more kisses along his throat.

"Max, we can't…"

She couldn't hear those words. She didn't want to hear them. Grabbing his head, she captured his lips in a bruising kiss. His mouth was everything she imagined it to be, soft and moist, satiny smooth and his tongue - dear God, she was drowning. He scooped her up and they almost tripped as they tried to move together toward the cot.

Alec broke away from her and stared down at the beauty looking up at him with desire filled eyes. He leaned down heavily and moved his hands along the sheets. Smiling at her, he reveled in feeling her eyes on him. His fingers brushed something rough. His eyes widened and flickered to where his hand were. There were restraints on the bed. The same warning that this was wrong resounded in his head. His head turned back to the door and that's when he saw it.

In the corner, high near the ceiling was a blinking red light and above that was a camera. Alec swore silently and shot out of the bed. Of course they'd have a camera. She was a prisoner. They were prisoners. It was all the incentive he needed to pull himself into action.

He stalked to the door and pounded on it. "Lydecker," he shouted.

Max scrambled out of the bed after him. She snaked around him and planted her hands on his chest. "Alec, don't go."

Alec heard the metallic clang of the magnetically charged lock being released. Alec did his best not to look in her eyes but he couldn't resist. Maybe he wanted to feel punished and that's why he looked. Her eyes had filled with tears. For a moment he felt frozen to the spot. A strong hand closed around his shoulder and pulled him from the room.

Even from behind the closed door he could still feel her. He could feel her pain. The look she had given him as he was pulled away from her was like a knife to his heart. He turned on the only person he knew he could blame. "What the hell did you do to her!"


	7. Revelations

**Offshore Holding facility**

"How did he escape?" White was livid. He was ready to kill someone, and right now the agent twitching nervously in front of him seemed like a perfect candidate.

"Surveillance shows two men, possibly transgenic breaking him out. They ran into guards on the way in and no one fired a single shot at them."

"One of them was probably a mind control freak," White supplied curtly. "I want you to get the team ready. This ends now. We'll hit them hard tonight. They won't even see it coming," his muttered to himself, the corners of his lips turning upward in a small grin.

"Sir, there's one more thing," the agent started. When White shot him with a dangerous glare he clammed up.

"Speak," White barked.

"Ah, we had a report of Sandeman being in Seattle…" he hesitated with the next part, instinctively leaning back an inch out of arms reach. "but our guy lost him."

White turned abruptly and stalked away, slamming the door so hard that the sound reverberated through the room.

The news delivered and his neck still intact, the agent sighed in relief.

Terminal City

Dix watched the monitors, waiting as the last armored tank rolled away from the south-east fence. Today marked the end of the tense stand-off. A lawyer friend of Logan's had brokered them a peace deal from the White House. McKinley and his taskforce would pull back, the National Guard would disperse and only a regular sector police patrol would remain. Terminal City would be off limits to the public and transgenics would be safe so long as they never breeched the parameter. If they were caught on the streets they would be arrested and shipped to Alcatraz.

In reality it was a pretty poor deal. What about transgenics trying to get to Terminal City, it wouldn't protect them. Logan argued that it was the best they could have hoped for. Transgenic fear was still at an all time high. If the public had a say, they might all be shot on sight. Fear of the unknown forced them to act irrationally. The government couldn't allow them to roam freely among the general public. There'd be chaos. It was all fine for the X-series, they looked normal. They could blend in if they had to go outside, but for the transhumans, it was like being back at Manticore. They'd gone from one cage to another.

"This stinks of a set up. That McKinley's got 'death-to-transgenics' written all over his smug pasty face," Mole snorted.

Dix didn't disagree. Something was nagging at his stomach, tying it in knots and it only grew worse as the day drew on.

Joshua woke with a start, his canine nose picking up something even before he was fully awake. He smelt new blood, bad blood. He swung out of bed and pulled on boots before heading across the hall and knocking on the door.

"Gem, wake up," he hissed loudly. He knocked again.

Gem cracked the door open. She'd been trained to be a light-sleeper, but Missy made that even more ingrain. "What is it Joshua?" she asked tiredly.

"Bad people coming," Joshua said.

Gem ran back and bundled Missy in her blanket. Clutching her daughter to her chest, she motioned down the hall. "We need to get to the armory."

"No time," Joshua said pulling her in the opposite direction. They were almost at the emergency exit when they saw lights flickering at the bottom of the door.

"Back," Gem whispered. She turned and stopped abruptly when her ears caught the sound of boots closing in at the other end of the level.

Joshua growled and barreled at the emergency exit. The doors blast open, throwing two soldiers over the thin metal railing. Joshua tackled another who was at the top of the ladder. "Gem-Go-NOW," he roared.

Gem ran past them and punched one soldier back down the ladder as she passed Joshua who was struggling with another.

She slid down the ladder and rounded the platform, pushing the next ladder down. Electrical tasers sounded above her and she heard Joshua groan. "Joshua," Gem cried. Her heart lurched as she watched her friend drop to his knees. A small hand touched the exposed skin at the opening of her shirt and her eyes flew to her precious bundle. Spurring her legs into action, she moved as fast as she could down the last ladder and away from the building. The sound of bullets zinging by making her duck down and run faster into the partial safety of darkness.

The corridor, Lydecker's Base of Operations

There was load clang on the other side of the door and Alec guessed it was probably the cot being used as a battering ram. A thump followed and he grimaced. A year ago, he hadn't questioned his orders and he would have had sex with Max with no qualms whatsoever. So what there was a cell window that could open at any moment. He would have shrugged off guards wanting to take a gander. It's probably the closest they'd ever get to a beautiful naked woman. But Max had given him the power of choice when she freed them all from Manticore. These days his conscience operating at optimum, as did his heart and there was no way he would ever hurt Max. She may have wanted him but it was the heat talking. If he had let things go any further, she would have hated him for it later. He gave Lydecker a pointed glare, waiting for an explanation.

"We'll talk in my office. It won't do either of you any good staying here," he said a frown furrowing his brow.

Alec could barely contain another wave of rage as he followed Lydecker. Her pheromones still touched his every nerve, it was agony walking away from her. What was his game throwing them together like that. He had to know about the consequences. Why hadn't they just let her go? Even in his heat induced daze he had noticed the pallor of her skin and the disheveled state of her appearance. And what was the deal with the restraints? He wanted answers and he was going to get them. Even if he had to wring them out of the Colonel's feeble neck.

"Max has been in the middle of a heat cycle for almost four months," Lydecker said once they reached the confines of his office.

Alec was so taken back that he fell into the chair. It wasn't that he'd admitted Max was in heat that stunned him, it was the fact that they let her go on like that for months. He'd been around an X5 in heat before. The experience had been hair-raising to say the least. Sure they'd explained the mechanics and chemistry of it in a couple of their biology and human relations classes but the real thing made those educational slides seem G-rated.

It had been just another mundane afternoon of training exercises. He had been in-charge of supervising the commando course for three units of X7s. He hadn't seen her but he'd definitely sensed her before she'd tackled him. He would have dodged or had the sense to yell something if only he'd been able to figure out where she'd come from. Her scent had been so overwhelming that it had clouded his sense of direction.

"Hey there," she'd purred at him.

Alec stared up at her, completely stunned and pinned under her overly warm body. The response to her pheromones had been embarrassingly immediate. He'd been so hard that when she'd rubbed back up against him as she straddled his midsection, he'd jerked violently upward.

"Oh down boy," she'd chided, grinning wickedly. "As much as I'd like to take you right now, I'm not an exhibitionist."

Before he'd had any chance to react, he found himself surrounded by thick brush. It wouldn't matter that they were shielded from view. Once the first unit finished the course, his disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed.

She'd torn his pant seam in two with one sharp tug, zipper, belt, thermals and all. He lay there under her predatory gaze, naked from the waist down. She had leant down, her scent storming his brain and suddenly his primitive instincts had taken over. He had been seconds away from closing the deal when they were rudely interrupted.

Sharp pain had coursed through his body from a contact point on his back. An electric current shocking every muscle to submission.

The X5 female had hissed and screeched in outrage. After the initial shock had subsided he'd let his hands fall to his sides, breaking the link that allowed her to feel the current. He'd never seen a female with such a feral look of fury in her eyes. He had trembled. Not because he was about to undeniably face a stint in solitary for his conduct but because he was naked and his vulnerability was exposed to an angry X5 female. He'd been roughly hauled to his feet and he scrambled to collect the remainder of his pants which were bunched around his ankles. Her body had still beckoned to him but the tasers had acted like a bucket of icy water to his heated nerves. The shocks had shaken loose some of the cobwebs that had clouded his upstairs brain and he'd regained a small measure of self control.

"Get him out of here," one of the guards barked.

The X5 had lunged for him and she went down hard as several tasers connected with her chest. It was the last time he'd seen her. Manticore made sure they never crossed paths. Perhaps they were unsure of what might happen if they had met again even if she wasn't in heat. He thought she might have been transferred to another base.

He had been taken from the field for an ice cold shower and then found himself thrown in isolation. The chill did little to cool the heat in his blood or kill the hard-on he had to endure. The episode lasted about a week. It still ranked in the top ten worst experiences of his miserable existence. Sleeping had been impossible. No position was comfortable and his clothes kept bunching in all the wrong places. Standing was even worse. The only relief he had, short-lived as it was, came with dumping buckets of water over himself.

The whole thing had made him wish he'd gotten to scratch the itch, consequences be damned. Now that he'd been with Max, he was grateful that the guards had intervened when they did. Manticore had tainted them enough without scarring them with an episode like that too. He would have hated a heat-induced copulation to have colored his sexual experience for life. Being with Max had marked him in some way. Instinctively, he knew that he would never experience anything close to what he had with Max with any other female - X5 or not.

What had they done to her? Was this Manticore again? Was it something in her genetics that they screwed up? He knew enough about Lydecker from bits and pieces of conversations Logan and Max had, to know that the man wouldn't do anything to deliberately hurt Max. She was some kind of prodigy to him. Special. What he couldn't understand is why they hadn't tried to fix the problem. They'd done all sorts of gene splicing and tinkering at Manticore. They'd corrected the serotonin deficiency, the progeria and various other genetic disorders, maybe the heat cycles were too integral a part of their DNA to fix. They had a lot of feline attributes in their sup-ed up cocktail, agility, sight, energy to name a few. From what he remembered of their biology, heat cycles in female X5s lasted 48 hours or so and happened a couple times a year. Not for weeks on end.

Why hadn't she attacked every male in sight? As far as he knew there were no females in the place. Someone had been caring for her. As much has he hated the thought, they could have helped her kill the itch by setting her loose. It wouldn't have been much of a traumatic experience for the guy she seduced. Who wouldn't enjoy a beautiful, sensual female throwing him down and having her way with him? None of it made any sense.

Lydecker cleared his throat. There was no easy way to tell the younger man this. "We've done everything we can to make her comfortable. The heat continues to effect her. We've had to isolate her because as you know, X5 pheromones are impossible to control."

Alec flexed his fingers, cracking his knuckles unconsciously. The thought of Max being with someone else left an ache in his gut but if it had helped her then he'd live with it. However if one of the guys had forced themselves on Max they were in for a beating. PSYOPs or not, he'd take Dex down to defend Max's honor.

Lydecker caught the dark glint in Alec's eye and thought better on filling the young man in on GK's indiscretion. "Sandeman needs Max for the cure he's formulating. I'm sure despite your claimed ignorance, you are aware of the Familiars plans for humanity."

Alec didn't say anything. Honestly, he couldn't care less about White and his Familiars scheming but he knew Max felt different. She cared about everyone. And one thing he knew for certain was how much she wanted to find Sandeman. The old man. The puzzle pieces were falling into place. He was about the right age and he was a doctor. He wore a pendant like the one Joshua said was "'Father's" and he used a cane. Max had said that they'd found a cane with a Manticore-like symbol at Joshua's.

"Yes, you already met Sandeman," Lydecker supplied, guessing Alec's thoughts. "He's been looking after Max. The problem is there isn't a lot we can do for her. And if this continues, she could very well…" Somehow he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Movement on the monitor caught Lydecker's eye and he turned laptop so that Alec could see it. Max was pounding on the door. There were already streaks of blood staining the metal. "We had to restrain her because she's been trying to escape. In her condition, well let's just say she's in no shape to be tangling anyone."

They were all serving their own cause. Lydecker might be telling himself he was protecting Max, but really he looking after his own interests. "What do you want from me?" Alec asked tiredly.

"We were hoping you could make her more comfortable," Lydecker said levelly.

Inwardly, his jaw dropped at the implication. All he could manage without seeming completely insubordinate was a nod. If he'd done what he really wanted to do, he'd probably end up just like Max. Locked up somewhere.

Lydecker noted the myriad of emotion in the other man's eyes. He kept a tight rein on what he revealed in his face and the initial reaction aside, his body language had reverted back to a controlled posture of respectful interest. Seeing Ben's face staring back at him brought a lump to his throat. He had often wondered if the X5's behavior on the outside had been a result of some mistreatment on his part. After all, Alec and Ben shared identical DNA. They'd had the same training to the point of the '09 escape. If anything, Alec had endured much harsher treatment because of Ben. Alec's superiors had worried the psychosis was genetic and tested 494 extensively to assess the possibility. There was no sense wasting resources on a faulty product.

Lydecker frowned, he should just accept what history proved. Twins might have identical genes and the same parents but the mind was an unpredictable thing. No two people were exactly the same. However he couldn't shrug the responsibility or guilt over Ben's behavior and eventual death. A broken neck. It didn't take a genius to conclude how that had come about. He'd been hunting Max at the time, of that much he was fairly certain now. His kids preferred death over returning to Manticore. His reasoning argued that it was inexperience and youth that made them fear it. The rest of the X5s always returned to home base after away missions.

Another part of him always wondered though if he'd given a little more, treated them more like children than soldiers, would things have turned out different. It was idle to dwell on the matter, he knew those kinds of thoughts would always stay a speculation. Max nor any of the others would offer up the information voluntarily and he certainly wasn't stupid enough to ask.

Studying Alec's face again, he couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy. Sandoval was dead but still he felt the man could rub success in his face. He'd won the favor of the Committee early on with his results. Sandoval had managed to stay in Renfro's good graces too. It wasn't his fault half of his X5 group had escaped. He hadn't been able to devote half the time Sandoval could to making them a blazing success because he spent an outrageous chunk of resources and time trying to track his kids down.

Alec was a living testament to what Manticore had worked to achieve. Something that Lydecker had made his life's work and largely failed to do. In the early years, Eva and Zack had been his pride. Eva had been terminated - that kind of insubordination wasn't punished, it just wasn't tolerated. Second chances were a luxury they couldn't afford. Zack also orchestrated his own downfall. He cared too much.

Lydecker saw a lot of his younger self in Zack. Years and experience had hardened him. He was once exactly like Zack, idealistic, protective, and loyal. Zack was idealistic because he thought he could protect everyone he loved. It didn't work that way. You cared and people always got hurt. Lydecker was only loyal to himself and he answered to no one. You survived longer that way. As she had watched her grow, Lydecker felt more of why he held Max apart from the others. She had always impressed him, her intelligence, her quiet strength, she was one of the youngest but that had never stopped her from taking on and beating those older than her. On the outside, he'd known her to be fearlessly reckless but somehow she'd always outmaneuvered her hunters. Max was special, and that was before he knew anything of her unique genetics.

After a long silence, Alec spoke up. "I'd like to talk to Sandeman." He knew if he was going to make any kind of decision he needed to talk to Sandeman. He wanted medical answers from a medical mind, not secondhand information from someone he felt very close to loathing for. Joshua said Father was a good guy. Joshua trusted Sandeman, even conveyed a sort of love and respect for him. That was enough to give the Doc a chance to explain in his books.


	8. Desperate measures

**Terminal City, alleyway  
**  
Gem tried to keep the terror she was feeling under control but it was fast blinding her. It was this knew feeling of responsibility that was clouding her ability to revert to her training. Her heart was pounding so heard that she thought at any moment it was going to burst out of her chest. Her eyes swam with tears, not only for fear for her daughter's safety but for the dear friend she'd left behind. Angrily wiping her face, she tried to steel herself. _Soldiers don't cry. It's a useless expression. A sign of weakness. Pull yourself together, Gem_. She was so preoccupied chastising herself while trying to listen out for the sound of those damn boots that she barreled straight into Mole.

"Whoa there," Mole said gripping her arms tightly to steady her.

He had a soft spot for the woman ever since he met her. She had inner strength that he admired. Even in the midst of heavy labor she'd handled herself like a soldier, never once asking for special treatment or uttering a complaint. "We have to leave Terminal City. It was stupid to stay for so long. As much as I like Max's 'We've gotta stand our ground' speech - fact is we don't have any rights. We're fighting a losing battle, it's time to scatter and go to ground."

Gem nodded, a feeling of dread settling over her. "They have Joshua."

"Luke didn't make it," Dix said running up to them, followed by Dalton and another X7. "They've taken out the command center. We've got no communications."

"To hell with that. Every man for himself. They're trained, they know what to do when base has been compromised," Mole snapped.

"There!" They heard a voice yell.

"Move!" Mole growled pushing Gem toward the rail yard. "We split up and try to lose them. Dix you take them. Gem with me."

The X7s nodded and followed Dix as he took off around one of the old carriages. Mole looked at Missy clutching at Gem's shirt and for a second he thought of offering to take her. One look at the stony glint in Gem's eyes told him to hold his tongue. "Just keep up," he said stiffly.

They disappeared in the opposite direction to which Dix had gone, sticking to the shadow of the carriages headed toward the sewer entrance at the far end of the yard.

When they reached the manhole, Mole lifted it off and motioned to her. "You first." Gem nodded and didn't hesitate.

"Hold it," a voice commanded.

Gunfire erupted around them but was suddenly cut short when an X6 tackled the two Familiars bearing rifles. The young woman was fast but the two Familiars were strong. Mole immediately when to help her, catching a stray bullet in the side as he ran at one of them.

"Get moving," he yelled to the transgenics behind him.

Dix followed the young X7s down the ladder and found Gem breathing heavily and leaning against the sewer wall. Mole and the female X6 soon caught up to them, pulling the manhole closed.

"She's been hit," the X6 said in keen observation.

Mole looked Gem over and noticed that her ankle was bleeding. "Can you still move?"

Gem nodded and tested her legs. Sharp white hot pain shot through her and her vision distorted for a second. She bit back the pain and took in a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she meet Mole's assessing eyes. "I can make it."

Mole said nothing and motioned for them to keep moving. "We'll regroup at Joshua's. You all know where. Dix?"

Dix nodded. "You guys follow me." He waved the younger X-series to join him as he jogged down the tunnel.

Dalton, who had been silent till now, cast a worried look at Gem. "I can help…"

Gem grimaced again as she took another step. "No, you go with Dix. I can manage," she added directed at Mole.

Mole grunted. "You got me whether you want me or not." He slipped an arm around her waist and helped ease some of the weight off her foot.

Together they slowly made their way through the sewers. Reaching the manhole that lead to the surface Mole moved aside so that Gem could climb up first.

"Could you hold her?" Gem asked almost shyly.

Mole tried not to look surprised. Sure it would be difficult to climb while injured and holding the baby too but he never dreamt Gem would trust him with her child. That was more Joshua's thing. "Sure," he stammered.

Gem smiled and gave him Missy. No sooner had she lifted the manhole when she was greeted with angry shouts. Many hands grabbed at her jacket and pulled her away from the opening. She tried to kick and roll free but there were too many attackers.

"I want one of you stationed here till they stop coming," White said with a glare. "If they try to run. Shoot them."

Mole had heard everything and as light shone down the manhole, he ducked away deeper into the shadows. His heartbeat quickened and he tried to think. What the hell was he supposed to do now? There was another way to Joshua's but it meant a lot of crawling through tight, disgustingly foul smelling places, which he really had been hoping to avoid but given the circumstances… that wasn't his biggest problem however, he had just been left holding the baby. Never in his worst nightmares had he ever been faced with this kind of situation. Why hadn't he gone first? A burning sensation in his side reminded him that he'd been shot. The wound was closing over, thanks to reptilian healing ability, but the bullet was still inside.

"Guess it's me and you kid," he grumbled softly.

Mole had happily considered himself a loner. He was a survivor and he had been able to keep ahead in the game by having nothing to weigh him down. That stakes had just changed in a big way.

Missy looked up at him with large wet eyes but she didn't cry. She's a brave little one, he thought proudly. She was only about ten months old but she seemed to understand everything that was going on around her. As freaked out as he was at that moment, he was more concerned for Missy than he's ever felt for anyone or about anything in his life. She could lose her mother, and who would care for her then? He couldn't imagine raising a kid, even one as cute and as smart as Missy. Logan. They had to get to Logan. He'd know what to do. He always knew what to do.

Alcatraz Island

Joshua roared and rattled his bars again.

"Shut up," the guard said beating Joshua's hands.

"Maybe he doesn't understand," White said as he approached Joshua's cell. "He's only an animal after all."

Joshua narrowed his eyes at White and bared his teeth in a growl as he got closer.

"So we meet again," White said with a bitter scowl. "Move him to D block for questioning. I have a feeling there's a lot stored in that shaggy head we'll find interesting." With his nod, the cell door swung open and two guards advanced on Joshua with tasers.

As he walked away along the tier, a smile played on White's lips as the sounds of the dog-man's howls echoed off the walls.

Sandeman's laboratory

Alec sat on a stool while he watched Sandeman move around taking results from various machines and bubbling apparatus.

"Believe me, keeping Max against her will is the last thing I wanted. Initially the plan was to talk to her. Ask her to join us of her own accord. White interfered with that and her amnesia only made the situation more difficult."

"She has amnesia?" Alec was confused.

Looking up from the test tube he was measuring, Sandeman frowned. Lydecker hadn't mentioned that? Odd. He was of the impression that they had brought Alec in to help her regain her memory. "She remembers Lydecker but only from her childhood. Nothing recent since I was lead to believe that she and Lydecker had come to amicable terms."

Alec grunted at that and then frowned. "If she only remembers parts of her childhood, how did she know to call me Alec?"

Sandeman smiled. "Maybe you're more important to her than you give yourself credit for. Or maybe she remembers more than she lead us to believe. I've suspected as much. At any rate, my biggest concern is that I can't give her any more drugs for the discomfort. I've tried other treatments but they've all been unsuccessful. I'm worried that if this doesn't break soon her body could begin to shut down. It's truly amazing she's fought it this long."

"You mean why she hasn't broken down the door and attacked someone already."

Sandeman gave him a weary shake of the head. "Her body is too warn out for that now but even if she did break free would you really want her to grab the nearest male?"

Alec shrugged trying to appear indifferent. "If it stopped the heat…"

"Young man," Sandeman interjected, "You're even more naive than I first thought. Max loves you. If you care about her which I suspect you do, you'll help her."

"How did this happen? Was it something you gave her?"

Sandeman squared his jaw, his eyes growing hard. It was the first time Alec saw a glimpse of White. Everyone had darkness inside them, some just chose to let it consume their lives while others fought against it.

"I would never do anything to hurt, Max," Sandeman said tightly.

Alec shrugged. "You made us. Left us to Manticore. She had weird tattoos popping up all over the place and you made her the target of a freaky cult. I'd say that's at least gross negligence or reckless abandonment."

Sandeman gripped his cane tightly. He was a proud man and hated having to explain his decisions to anyone. He felt that his actions should speak for themselves. He knew he'd made mistakes in his past but he spent the rest of his life working to make up for them. "I did what was necessary. If you knew half of what the Conclave believed you'd be grateful for the way you were designed." He refrained from saying created because that implied he had a hand in their birth. He tested and spliced but all life came from God. His knowledge was a gift and he'd used it to ensure that not only his son but others survived the judgment.

The Conclave and their devotees believed themselves to be the last descendants of a sacred group of the Minoan race. Everyone had to submit to the rite of passage, the judgment. If you weren't deemed worthy by the goddesses, you wouldn't survive the blood mark. Under The Conclave's favor you were given wealth, status, opportunity and power. Their influence was believed to rival that of the Masons, without the myths and conspiracies because nobody outside of the circle knew they existed. There was no leaving the circle once you joined. Those who didn't survive the initiation weren't going to talk and their families knew the risk from birth. Outsiders were kept in the dark. He was the first to walk away and he'd paid the highest price. Iona had died a few years ago. It could be argued that it was her time but he knew better. The shame and the isolation had eaten away at her once radiant gentle nature. She'd been separated from everyone - Ames, CJ, her friends and those she'd come to call family. She had understood his motives but giving up everything and living in fear and hiding had worn on her. It hadn't helped that he had buried himself in his work. He told himself it was for CJ but really he could have made more of an effort to be there for her. After all, they only had each other. It wasn't till later that he found a few others willing to help him covertly. Elizabeth being one of them.

Alec shook his head. He couldn't exactly blame Sandeman for everything. Really what could one man do? A scientist no less. He had ended up with the bad guys breathing down his neck in the end too. Father's a good guy, he heard Joshua's voice again. He sighed inwardly. He hadn't meant for this to become a mud slinging session. He really just wanted to know about Max. "Do you have any idea why her memory hasn't returned?"

"The mind is a delicate thing. She did suffer minor head trauma when Lydecker brought her in and I suspect the strain the heat has put on her body might be effecting her recovery. Or perhaps she doesn't want to remember. With what she's been through in her life I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case."

"So you're saying she might never get her memory back?" Alec said a hint of worry seeping into his voice.

Sandeman rolled his pen between his thumb and forefinger in consideration. "The fact that situations and faces are triggering memories, I doubt that. She just needs time. And rest," he emphasized with a pointed look.

Sandeman collected his notes and left Alec alone with his thoughts. It didn't take him long to make his decision. Not when the alternative meant Max would be in pain any longer than she already had been. Not when it meant his inaction, could mean Max dying.

It wasn't fair. There was always something to reminded them that they weren't human. They'd been created in a lab. Every so often the freak of nature that always hovered beneath the surface decided to come out and put on a show. He hated what this was doing to Max. He hated that he had no other choice. He only hoped that after it was all over Max would forgive him for the part he had to play. Any slugs his ego and his heart would endure over the possible rejection he might face were a small price to pay if it meant saving Max.

He knew where to find Lydecker and knocked once before entering. "I'll help Max but you've got to do a few things for me first," he said standing opposite Lydecker's desk.

Lydecker nodded and motioned for him to take a seat.

Alec reluctantly took a see, eyeing the man wearily. He look entirely too comfortable for his liking. Alec didn't waste time mincing words, he ran down his list of conditions. Max was to be released. He wouldn't go to her, if she wanted him, she would know where to find him. Under no circumstances was she to be followed. They were to give her at least 12 hours on her own. He also needed a medic kit so he could dress her wounds.

Lydecker raised an eyebrow at the timeframe and his free roam demand. "What guarantees do I have that she won't escape? That you won't try to escape together?"

"I might not agree with your methods but Sandeman still needs Max for the moment. I gave you my word that I'd join you. I keep my word," Alec said stonily. He stood and gave Lydecker his best steely soldier look.

Lydecker stood and smiled. "Good to have you on board, son.

Sandeman's cabin

Alec waited alone in the small cabin by the lake. He hadn't wanted to stay in the facility where there were cameras and others around. Lydecker had offered a compromise. Sandeman had a private residence. It was rarely used since he spent a lot of his time in his lab but it was furnished and cosy. It was also secluded but close enough that it was still within the same satellite frame as the facility. Lydecker said that way he could keep an eye on them without encroaching on Alec's request for privacy. He didn't take offense to the fact that Lydecker couldn't take him at his word. The man would have to be a fool to let them go without some kind of leash and Lydecker might be a lot of things, but he wasn't a fool.

Dressed in the same clothes that were given to him in the infirmary, a pair of black sweat pants and a white t-shirt, Alec felt the chill. It was a long walk over from the facility and the bristly night air had chased the warmth from his blood. Ordinarily he wouldn't have even felt the cold, having been conditioned to weather all sorts of extreme temperatures. However he was still recovering from the taxing his system had endured under White's hospitality. Upon reaching the cabin, he'd quickly built a fire and sat on the rug in front of it to get warm.

How long had it been? An hour, two? It had been dark when he left Lydecker. The sky was heavily overcast so it was impossible to tell the time by the moon. He had gone on foot so that Max would be able to follow his trail. If she would follow. Part of him hoped that she would escape. He didn't care if he had to face Lydecker's wrath alone.

He was sure that Sandeman was smart enough to figure out the rest of the cure without her. They'd had Max for months already. How many more samples could they need? Or were they doing tests on her too? The thought sent a shiver down his spine. He hadn't done any investigating. Sure he hadn't had much opportunity but the fact that he hadn't even thought about it before now bothered him. Dex, he realized with a grimace. He wasn't thinking about escape or espionage because Dex had done something to him.

Then he'd sensed it. That same feeling he'd had when the X5 had stalked him at Manticore. He turned his head and saw Max in the doorway. She was dressed more warmly than he was. He sent silent thanks to Sandeman for that. She looked a lot better than how he'd last seen her. She had showered and her cuts had been cleaned. And her long hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail lent a little more life to her face. Their eyes met but despite the hunger he saw there, she looked defeated.

She stood in the doorway, almost hesitant. "You left," she said softly accusing.

Alec didn't want her to feel like he would abandon her again so he stood and went to her. The moment he took her hand, she latched onto him. She clamped her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, delving her fingers into his hair. He carried them back to the bed at one end of the room. Feeling the edge of the mattress at the back of his knees, he sank down to the coverlet.

Max grinned wickedly at him and pushed on his chest. They went down into the soft quilt together and she stayed straddling his waist. Reaching up, she pulled out the elastic and shook out her damp hair, while grinding her hips against him.

Alec closed his eyes and grit his teeth. She was killing him. He felt her fingers at the hem of his t-shirt and lifted his arms as she pulled the material upward. It wasn't long before her felt her touch move to the waistband of his pants. She fingered the patch of hair just below his navel and Alec felt his nerves sing. He bucked under her and caught her around the waist, swiftly reversing their positions.

Alec undressed her and slowly cast an appraising eye the sight before him - she lay under him, her hair fanned out across the pillows, her glorious unblemished skin bathed in a warm glow from the fireplace, a tinge of pink on her cheeks, she was breathtaking.

"Why are you still wearing clothes," she growled. She made short work of disrobing him.

He chuckled at her wide-eye expression, as her gaze took in a certain part of his anatomy. "Something look different?" he teased. The last time they'd been together there hadn't been a lot of light, but that hadn't stopped him from studying every inch of her with his cat-vision. He suddenly recalled that she probably didn't remember that at all and a twinge of pain squeezed his heart. Tilting his head thoughtfully, he smirked down at her. Well he'd just have to remind her of what she was missing.

Alec tried to let her lead but her pheromones were clouding his brain and soon he wasn't in control anymore. His primitive side took over and he gave into what her body wanted of him. He became senseless to pain, surrendering only to pleasure. The sounds of night faded in his ears till all he could hear were her cries.

Max started to feel her legs tremble. She was burning alive from her core. Her vision was blurring, she couldn't keep Alec in focus and she felt like she was losing her equilibrium. She racked her nails down his chest and bent to kiss him roughly, dragging her teeth over his bottom lip.

The response he'd triggered in her the moment they'd met, she'd instinctively known that he was her mate. Her body had tightened and heat flared through her. Her heartbeat had quickened in her chest and her vision had clouded till all she could see was him. His pheromones had flicked on a switch inside her and even though the memory of him was beyond her consciousness, her body knew him, welcomed him.

When they finally found release, he gripped her arms and brought her against him, falling back into the mattress, no longer able to hold himself up. The cool damp sheets knocked air back into his lungs and he drew in ragged gasps. It had been the longest, most aggressive chase to climax he'd ever experienced but the orgasm was mind-blowing. Every fiber of his body felt alive, yet at the same time he felt utterly spent. It was a peaceful exhaustion, he'd never felt more content. He gazed down at Max's sleepy face. She had slumped against his chest, her head just below his chin. He wondered if she felt the same?

Her eyes were closed and she had a sated smile on her lips. He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her temple. She snuggled into his neck and he pulled the quilt around them. Once she regained her memory, he hoped she'd understand and forgive him for what he'd done. The bliss was beginning to fade he felt the bruises of their assault. He winced inwardly, he should have had more self control. They'd both been through hell the last few months and more sprains were all they needed. Although he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thoroughly enjoyed himself, he also felt deeply guilty. He hated that he'd been forced to do this. It was all Manticore. They'd screwed them over again. It didn't matter how much time went by or how hard they fought, they could never escape. He kissed her forehead and swallowed back the lump in his throat. "I love you, Max," he whispered.

His words filtered through her sleep deprived mind and plagued her with a barrage of memories.

He'd given her the saddest look and she felt the softness of his kisses on her cheek, each eyelid and finally her lips. "I want to do this Max. Please let me do this."

Her heart twisted painfully and she bit back a sob. How could she have sat there and let him face them alone? Her eyes flew open and she angled her head to stare at him.

Alec stiffened under her unblinking gaze. She was studying him with unveiled scrutiny, a bewildered look in her eyes. He suddenly felt cold all over. He moved away from her and pulled himself to sitting position, mindful to keep the coverlet around her shoulders.

"Why did I let you do it?" she asked in confusion.

Alec struggled with words. He had no idea what she could be referring to, so he didn't know how to answer her question.

Max gathered the quilt tighter around her and looked at him accusingly. "You wouldn't let me fight."

Then it dawned on him. She was remembering the last time they were together. He smiled reaching out to stroke her chin absently. "You were always saving my ass, I thought it was my turn," he said joking.

She didn't share his smile and turned from his touch. "It killed me inside…to hear them take you. I thought I'd never see you again. It was like…" She began to tremble. Soon it took over her whole body and she couldn't stop the shakes.

Alec shifted closer and pulled her against the wall of his chest. He smoothed the hair from her face and hushed her in comforting tones. "It's okay, Max."

More images hit her and the emotions that went along with them.

She heard herself promise that she wouldn't. His face seemed to relax at that. He lay in her arms and almost in that voice she remembered from her childhood, she listened as he told her about the good place. Right before she snapped his neck. She knew that she did it because her fingers felt the memory of his muscles and bones as they twisted and crunched under the force of her grip.

Tears filled her eyes and she saw his look of confusion at the what she knew was an expression of shock on her face. Her fingers trembled as she reached to touch him. He was here. He was alive. How? She knew him as Alec, but had they somehow brought Ben back? She was almost afraid to touch him.

Alec's heart thundered in his chest. He recognized that look in her eyes. It was the look she'd given him the day they'd first met. It had been just a flash in her eyes then, but he'd never forgotten it. She had thought she was looking at her dead brother. He had seen it again months later when she finally told him about Ben. Those memories was coming back to her.

"He died Maxie," he said softly. "He asked you to do it. He knew what they'd do to him if he was taken back. Ben was my twin." He saw the shock fade but it was replaced with a guilt and pain. It cut him deeply that she had to go through this again. He held her tightly to his chest and rubbed her back as she cried silent tears. "He's at peace now, no one can ever hurt him again."

Max curled against him. Listening to the strong beat of his heart comforted her like nothing else could. His strength wasn't just physical, and he oozed an easy confidence that made it hard not to trust him. In her bones she knew that Alec was her rock. With him she felt safe. "We have to escape. We can't stay here Alec. Everyone I love dies because of Manticore. I won't let them take you too," Max said her voice full of determination.

Alec stiffened. It was the first time he had ever heard her profess to care about him. In a round about way she had said that she loved him. He should feel ecstatic but he didn't. This wasn't his Max talking. If she had all her memories, he doubted that she could say she loved him. He knew she cared and she was obviously attracted to him but love? He was pretty sure those feelings were one sided. Before they'd had sex in the basement, she'd never given him any indication that she considered him anything more than a friend. There was so much bad history between them if she remembered even half of it, he knew he'd be back in her black book faster than he could say boo.

And how was he going to explain that Manticore was gone? That was just going to bring a weight of responsibility back that she just didn't need right now. He knew Max. There was nothing in half measures with her. If he told her about Manticore, she'd remember that they were nearly all barbecued because she'd exposed the Project via Eyes Only, and now that she'd let everyone out they were all being hunted by White and his group of crazies. "Ah Max…"

Max sat up, her gaze zeroing in on the window. "We're on the outside."

Alec felt all the blood drain from his face. This was it. It was time to take her back. Hell, why did this have to be so impossible. He wished he could take her away from it all. Before he'd gotten to know Max - before he'd made friends in Seattle - he would have taken advantage of the fact she had no memory and run off with her. Blow responsibility and everyone else. But they had obligations to their friends, their kind in Terminal City. Max had become their leader of sorts and they all looked to her for direction. And he'd given his word to Lydecker. Because of Max, that had come to mean something again.

While he was still trying to formulate a plan, Max had scrambled off the bed. She dressed in a blur and before he could untangled himself from the sheet, she had charged to the door. "We need to move now. Lydecker probably has someone close by. Or he's bugged the place." She shuddered at that. The thought that they could have been watched or heard hadn't even entered her mind before. Funny how screwy her brain got when she was in heat. "Wait, you were alone here. Why didn't you escape?"

Alec started to feel very uneasy with her train of thought.

Max frowned as another memory came reeling back.

"I'd stop touching him if I were you." She remembered the smirk in his voice and the betrayal she felt as she looked at him.

"You tricked me. You let me think I was escaping so I would kill--" she searched for the name, the memory wasn't clear. "--Logan?" She looked up to meet his eyes. "Why?"

Alec rolled his eyes and he turned away from her to dress. Logan again. Well that one had been a sure thing to come back and slap him in the face. When he finished she was still standing by the door looking at him expectantly. Suddenly it clicked and he felt so dense for it having taken so long to remember where he'd known Dex from. He was PSYOPs. Why hadn't Lydecker used Dex to help Max with her memory? Those guys had ways of retrieving information the subject wasn't even aware they knew. Then it dawned on him, boy had he been slow on the uptake lately, they wanted her in the dark. She was more cooperative with no memory. Or what cooperation they could get out of someone who needed to be constantly sedated anyway. His gut churned and he felt sick.

He was helping them. He'd helped them keep Max happy and he couldn't blame that all on Dex's power of suggestion. He was fairly certain he could still make his own decisions, otherwise his memory'd be screwy. That's what happened when PSYOPs tinkered with your brain. You just did things, not really remembering why or how you did them. There was no guilt attached because there was no free will involved.

"We're not at Manticore, Max. Lydecker's keeping you here because he wants to use you against White." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. At the moment he was just searching for any way to deflect the suspicion she was casting on him. It worked. Her eyes flashed and she wrenched on the door handle.

Alec pulled on his boots and hurried after her. Once Max was through ripping into Lydecker, he wouldn't mind giving the man a piece of his mind. And what was Sandeman's part in all this? He can't have been ignorant to Dex's abilities, could he?

The whole time she spent running back to the main building she recalled memories of encounters she had had with Ames White. None of which were pleasant. It was as though the heat had stunted her memory and everything was slowly rebuilding now that it had broken. So what was Lydecker's game and where did she come in? And who was that old man he was always talking to? The doctor that had taken care of her.

Alec caught up to her as they reached Lydecker's door. She was about to storm in when Alec restrained her. "Wait," he whispered. He had heard voices from inside. One of which he recognized as Sandeman's.


	9. Going home

**Lydecker's Office**

"We have the results of final test," Sandeman said trying to hold back a triumphant smile.

Lydecker could read the doctor like a book and right now he looked like a kid on his first trip to the candy store. He was surprised he hadn't started smacking his hands together in glee. "And," he prompted.

"A complete success. Virulent strain was naturalized on contact."

"Impressive. It's better than we hoped for."

"Speak for yourself," Sandeman said proudly. "I designed Max to be perfect. Her DNA was resistant to all strains of the virus. The antidote and inoculation we synthesized using her cells will save millions, perhaps billions who never would have stood a chance."

The corridor

Alec turned to Max, relief washing over him. He faced her with a wide smile. "You know what this means?" At her shrug, he filled her in. "White's plan is history and we're free to go."

Max didn't need anymore prompting, she headed for the stairs but stopped halfway down. "Wait, he's not just going to let us go is he?"

Alec shoulders slumped. Again with the over thinking. Max thought way too much. She didn't have all her memory back and already she was second guessing him.

"That's right you can't just walk out of here," Dex said stepping into their path.

Alec instinctively put himself between Dex and Max. Even though her heat was over she was weak from her ordeal and he could still smell her pheromones. He wasn't about to let her fall prey to anyone. "The Doc has the cure, Dex. He doesn't need Max anymore."

Dex gave Alec a lopsided grin while looking Max over. He hadn't had the pleasure of seeing her up close and conscious. The last time he'd seen her was slumped over the backseat of Lydecker's SUV. A healthy glow to her cheeks and her expressive brown eyes open, she really was a spectacular beauty. "Lydecker gave no orders to let Max go. And I'm fairly sure you two had an agreement."

Alec narrowed his eyes at the other man. "Nothing I agreed to voluntarily," Alec countered. "Sandeman is in charge of Max's care, am I right?"

Dex nodded, eyeing Max again.

Alec seethed inwardly, if the transgenic did that again he was going to be wearing his last smile. "He doesn't want her here against her will and Max wants to leave. You don't want to stand in our way on this. If you care at all about your own kind, you'll let us go." He stopped short of telling Dex what he thought of his not helping Max. Memory or not, the sooner he got her away from them the better he'd feel.

Max had had enough of being virtually devoured. "If you get out of our way, I'll give you something to smile about."

Dex raised an eyebrow and took a step aside. He smiled down at Max as she passed by him.

Max stroked a finger along his jaw and tiptoed to leave a breath of a kiss below his earlobe, watching his eyelids shutter at the sensation. With the practiced movements of a seasoned pickpocket, she swiped his handcuffs and chained him around the handrail before he could register what she'd done.

Alec, realizing that Max wasn't clued in to the transgenic's abilities, quickly clobbered Dex across the back of the head. "He would have raised the alarm," he said at Max look of surprise. Taking her hand, he quickly lead her to the exit of the facility. It wouldn't be long before someone came out of Lydecker's office and noticed something suspicious at the bottom of the stairs. Hopefully the wouldn't run into any more resistance before they got out.

Inside a Winnebago

Reaching the interstate on foot they'd jumped the first ride that had come along. Alec had a chance to use the restroom and Max took quick shower. Afterward they sat together on the bed. Alec was the first to break the silence while he watched Max rub her hair dry with the towel and then ran her fingers through the damp ringlets, combing out the tangles. It was disarming to watch her do something so simple yet subtly intimate and be perfectly comfortable in front of him. "About before Max…I want you to know that if the Doc hadn't said it was dangerous for the heat to continue I wouldn't have…" he struggled for the right words. "I wouldn't have gone through with it. It's just that heat has this effect on males too." _Lame, Alec. Really lame, put the blame back on her. Nice going. _He rewarded himself with an imaginary slap to the forehead.

Max threw the towel over a chair and reached over, squeezing Alec's hand. "I kind of figured that out," she said with a blush. She wasn't going to tell him how. The effect she'd had on GK was enough to send shivers down her spine and she suppressed the urge to do just that. She didn't want Alec misinterpreting her reaction and feeling more remorseful than he already was. "I'm glad it was you, Alec. Strangely enough, I knew it was supposed to be us even before you showed up," she said with a smile.

Alec tried to smile back but the knot of guilt gnawing at stomach wouldn't let him. The Max he knew wouldn't have said that. She would have kicked his ass and told him take a hike for taking advantage of the situation, for not having better judgement for the both of them. He knew Max well enough to know she would hate heat. It took free will out of the equation, you became this other person with a powerful urge that wouldn't stop unless you gave in to it. He hated how primitive it made him and it had been worse for Max. She had been on the receiving end of his behavior. _If only you knew the truth Max, _he thought. He was relieved that she wasn't hurt or angry but time would tell if that would change. He made a resolution to be completely honest with her. He'd show her the guy behind the 'devil may care' attitude that he'd been too afraid to reveal before so when she did get her memory back, she'd understand that everything he'd done was for her.

"Get some sleep," he urged her gently.

The rest of the ride to Seattle hadn't been so comfortable. They sat huddled together in the back of a farmer's pick up. Thankfully they only had maybe an hour or so to go. They'd been discovered when the Winnebago's owners had made an abrupt stop at a servo. Getting caught hadn't bothered him too much, the trip had been great while it lasted. It beat getting to Seattle on foot or on the back of a big rig, even if the lady had looked ready to box his ears. She had been very vocal about her concerns that they might have defiled her bed. Max had been shaken, still drowsy from not being fully awake and blushed to the roots of her hair. If she hadn't been so disorientated, he would have laughed and told her how cute she looked when she was embarrassed.

As they bumped along, the chilly night gushing by, Max curled against his chest and Alec wrapped his arms around her. The thin blanket the man had given them didn't prove to be much of a windbreaker but their combined body heat kept the chattering at bay. Having Max resting against him and being in a relaxed position made him acutely aware of his healing body. He could feel exhaustion tugging at his eyelids and he fought to stay awake. Max was still recuperating and without her memory she was more vulnerable. She had handled Dex fairly well but he couldn't be sure whether her actions were instinct or if she was beginning to remember her training. He had keep aware for both of them.

"Tell me about us," Max said quietly.

The rumble of the engine, the rickety suspension and the night sounds in his ears, without his enhanced hearing he wouldn't have caught what she said. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. What about them indeed. He wondered where he could start. The time she planted her boot into his naked torso and told him that's the only physical contact they were going to have. Or perhaps when he rescued her from the cage White had put her in. Oh he had a great one, they'd both been trying to steal Sammy's 756th home run baseball and neither of them had taken the prize because she'd been too busy trying to kick his ass while dangling above the security lasers, instead of being reasonable and agreeing to share. That was Max - bitchy, petty and uncompromising - with him anyway. He'd seen her softer side extended to others countless times. He always managed to draw out the cattiness in her. Feisty and always on the verge of resorting to blows. Call him a sadist but he really missed that Max.

"I don't know if I want to remind you," he confessed with a smile. "You have an obsession with beating me up. Maybe it's cause you want to touch my body all the time," he said teasingly.

Max blushed and angled her head so she could see his eyes. "I'm sure you deserve it."

Alec smirked at her thoughtfully. "I can be a bit of a pain in the ass but it gets your attention and that's exactly what I'm aiming for," he said kissing her forehead.

Max hugged him and smiled to herself as she snuggled against the solid wall of his chest. "You know there are other ways to get my attention," she said with a purr as he stroked her neck under her hair. "Kinda like that."

Alec felt a curious tightening in his chest as he listened to her sound of contentment. _I'd do anything to make you happy, Max._ Moisture built in his eyes and he wished he could form his thought into speech but he didn't want to chance ruining the moment. So instead of sappiness he reverted to his casual teasing, it was an better fit for him, it's what she was used to hearing. "Well you just keep dropping me hints and I'll be only too happy to oblige."

Through the soft material of his pull-over she could hear the strong thud of his heart. She found herself drifting into a deep sleep listening to that beat, smiling as her brain conjured up all sorts of crazy situations they could find themselves in. True to his word, she seemed to smack him or punch him at every opportunity, even when the trouble they wound up in wasn't his fault.

Alec shook her gently before they reached the city's first checkpoint. They slipped from the truck, not wanting to explain to the charitable driver why they couldn't continue on with him. "We need sector passes to move freely around the city so we'll have to do the whole sneak and blur routine," he explained to her.

Max followed closely at his back and they slipped past the outer limit checkpoints with ease. It wasn't till they got closer to city central that it got a little tougher. Dawn was approaching and the last moments of cover that twilight had offered were drawing to a close.

"We'll use the sewer tunnels the rest of the way to Terminal City," Alec said quickly. "They've probably still got the National Guard camped out front anyway." He'd memorized all of the sewer tunnels between Sector 3 and 12. It came in handy to get around undetected between Jam Pony, his apartment, Joshua's, Terminal City and his various suppliers. He remembered how Max liked to ride him about all his vocal moaning about how often she'd dragged his unwilling butt around the sewers before they'd been confided to Terminal City. If she'd known the truth, he was sure her reaction would have been worse than teasing, he'd only bitched to cover how much he enjoyed being in her company. That and the fact that she'd called on him to help her out on whatever job she'd currently delegated as her responsibility. It was really nice to feel needed.

Terminal City, Max scrunched her nose at the thought. Who called a place Terminal City. Sounded like the name of a graveyard or hospice. She followed Alec silently as they navigated the maze of foul, dark and dingy tunnels. The length and number of tunnels that they'd taken amazed her. She remembered how massive Manticore's basement had seemed and how terrifying. The sewers reminded her of them and yet Alec seemed perfectly at ease. He knew exactly where he was headed and wasn't the least bit uncomfortable. If anything, he seemed happy. A hint of a smile playing on his lips. Every know and again she caught him glancing at her with a curious expression. As though he was waiting for her to suddenly morph and snap at him or something.

"See something you want, Maxie?" he teased with a smirk.

Max nudged him with her shoulder, her cheeks flushing at the look he gave her. "Don't call me Maxie."

"Why not?" Alec probed. Ordinarily he wouldn't have asked but new Max didn't have invisible boundaries he wasn't allowed to test and he found himself wanting to explore that territory as much as he could before her defenses came back.

She averted her eyes, feeling a bit self conscious. Alec had a way of both setting her at ease and making her feel a girly vulnerability at the same time. She cared a lot what he thought of her. It didn't help that he was so together, secure in his own skin, epitome of masculine confidence. "Maxie's this scared, awkward little girl with no hair. Only the others called me Maxie."

"Your siblings?" Alec found himself pulling her into a half hug. He'd unwittingly brought Ben into the picture again. He cursed himself for his blunder. "Okay, so no more Maxie. How 'bout Gorgeous then. No? What about Sexy? Oh no, hey Princess."

Max snorted at the ridiculous names. "What's wrong with plain Max?"

Alec gave her a mock pout. "You named me Alec. It's only fair I get to have a name for you too. Come on. What about Booty-lish-ous?" He gave her his best puppy-eyes.

"How 'bout I slap some sense into you. There's no way I'd let you call me anything with references to my butt in it." Max jabbed him in the ribs with her index finger and Alec flinched back.

"Hey." Alec rubbed his side feigning injury. "That hurt."

"Quit being a baby," she chided.

She bit her lip and gave him a sideways smoldering glance. Alec felt his mouth run dry. She could turn his insides into mush with just a look. He was so whipped.

"Is that the best you could come up with," she prompted coyly.

Alec swallowed, starting to feel an embarrassing sensation stirring in his pants. He needed to purge his thoughts of what her eyes had evoked or they wouldn't make it to Terminal City. And he wasn't going to jump her like some randy teenager looking for his first lay, he had more self control. "Let's say it's a work in progress."

They reached the ladder out and Alec gave her his best disarming smile. "I'd say ladies first, but I don't want you facing any nasty surprises."

Climbing out of the manhole and into the underground parking lot, a knot of warning formed in Alec's stomach. It was quiet, too quiet. Terminal City was residence to hundreds of transgenics. There should be squealing babies, X7s running a muck, X6s huddled in cozy groups talking gossip and X5s supervising all the younger X-series - some females twisting the arms of their male counterparts to step up to the duty call of Manticore's last project, the breeding program. Lucky for them there had been a lot of soldiers who'd excelled in field med and a handful of X5s who had trained in intern-level surgery. One of them was actually a wizard with a scalpel and needle. Fisher, the med-trained X5, had worked wonders on his shoulder when he'd been shot last year. There was absolutely no stiffness or scaring.

Reminiscing on the sounds of Terminal City brought him to another thought. Where the heck were all the transhumans? There were actually twice as many 'freaks', as Luke jokingly labeled them, as there were X-series. Some were designed the way they appeared but others were nomalies. At first both clans stuck to their own but slowly, with the help of people like Joshua, the void between them was being bridged. They'd even allowed Gem to take up residence in transhuman territory because Joshua'd found her a room for her to sleep in. _Need own space for her and the baby_, he'd said. People gravitated to Joshua. It wasn't just because he was the oldest of them, it was because of his gentle and caring nature. He never turned anyone away and regardless of race he would help if he was asked.

They were still a way off from the buzz that was their make-shift command hub but there should have been all manner of transgenics around. Terminal City never had quiet moment, the place was always a hive of industry. Long before the siege when it was still each to his own, the transhumans had started making a home out of Terminal City. They had electricity, a half decent surveillance system, running water and plumbing. Sure it wasn't even close to Yum Yum Tree standard but at least they had somewhere to bunk down without fear of being shot or taken will they were sleeping.

They even had an armory, which Mole insisted needed additions on a regular basis. _Can never have enough ammunition and weapons._ _Gotta be prepared. The vigilant live to fight another day, the unprepared get dead. _Alec smirked at the thought of his cigar-toting friend. How had he handled solo leadership while they'd been gone?

To appease Mole and make himself useful, Alec scored what he could for their band of merry misfits from the various contacts he'd built up over the years while on away missions. On the note of surveillance, someone should have picked up on their movement by now but they hadn't run into anyone.

Come to think of it, as they'd walked through the atrium between HQ and the parking lot there should have been noise of tanks and boots of National Guard soldiers patrolling the outer fence. Not to mention the devoted few who still found the stamina to protest outside their gates. The street was a like a wasteland. Before they would have waited for the safety of nightfall to move between buildings. It was so eerily different to what he remembered that a shiver of fear crawled up his spine.

The sight of their command center bought him to a stand still. The place was completely torn apart. Bullets casings and shredded paper peppered the floor. Lighting fixtures hung from the ceiling by strands of wire and a single lamp flickered intermittently casting a sickening glow over the scene of destruction. There were bloods droplets and smears on the walls. Their guys had put up one hell of a fight. Were they all dead? He shook his head as feeling returned to his feet and he slowly navigated the room. They weren't all dead, majority would have escaped. The COs would have made sure of that.

After the tense stand-off between the police and the transgenics after the Jam Pony episode, they'd quickly realized that they needed to get their camp in order. They couldn't keep up this every man for himself and help each other out when the need arose routine.

Max and Mole had previously formed an unspoken dual leadership. Max's part had come about by a sense of responsibility for everyone and her willingness to always help out in every area that demanded attention. After the Jam Pony fallout, she'd cemented herself in everyone's minds as not only undeserving of the stigma and reputation Manticore had marked her with but someone worthy of their admiration and respect. Taking Manticore down single-handedly and saving countless transgenics from White at every turn had quickly earned Max something akin to hero status among Terminal City's refugees. There were still a few X5s that were frosty but who could blame them. The twins of Max's siblings had, had it a lot tougher than the rest and unlike the transhumans, nomilies and younger X-series, they knew who had caused that aspect of their torment at Manticore.

In Alec's mind that ship had sailed eons ago. Max had saved his hide more times than he'd ever care to admit to anyone else. Strength and training aside, Max had something on him that ten years at Manticore couldn't hold a candle to. Her character was her own. They hadn't broken her and that's more than he could say for himself and many others. He knew they hadn't gone easy on her. She was an '09-er after all. They would have played every trick in the book. She had every reason to despise everything Manticore. They'd been a thorn in her side from her first breath, yet she never turned her back on her own, as she called them. She didn't have to but she went out of her way to disprove any misgivings anyone had about her loyalty. She had done a lot more than set him free, she'd given him a sense of integrity, responsibility and heart. It was something you couldn't put a price on. She gave him purpose.

Max climbed the short flight of stairs to a bank of monitors. Not one was operational. All of them were riddled with bullet holes, the glass cracked and blackened. The desk was charred and the keyboards were a mess, wires and circuit boards exposed, keys missing. Her fingers curled over the back of a nearby chair unconsciously. This place felt familiar. Had she spent a lot of time here? Her eyes drifted to the seat she was holding and a chill settled over her chest. There was a large blood stain marking the fabric. Someone had died in this chair. Her gaze flew to Alec who stood in the middle of the room below. His face was ashen and held a sadness she couldn't put into words.

"White," he said his jaw tightening. He'd probably launched the attack after he'd found him missing. Thinking he'd come back to Terminal City, he'd thrown everything he had at the place. He'd brought White's wrath down on his friends. He should have stayed put. A wave of anger and guilt sent him rigid. This was his fault.

Max hurried down the steps and gripped his hand tightly. "We shouldn't stay here."

Alec nodded numbly. She was right. They could still be watching the place. They'd take the sewers out and head to Logan in Sector 3. There was no use beating himself up over what was done. Better to put all his energy into trying to set things right. He wouldn't accept this as defeat. As long as there was hope that they were still alive, he'd find a way. As much as he hated the idea of what a reunion with Logan might trigger in Max, his feelings would have to suffer. They needed to know what had gone down at TC. If anyone knew anything, it would be Logan. Maybe Joshua had escaped the attack and they'd find him there. That was all the motivation he needed to put the negative thoughts at seeing Logan aside. "I know a place we can go."


	10. Confessions and confusion

**Joshua's**

Walking up the steps to Sandeman's old house, Alec noticed that Max hesitated on the grass staring up at the painted windows.

Max had noticed a shadow but it disappeared at second glance and she thought she might have imagined it.

"You coming?" Alec asked, his hand poised on the door handle. It was unlocked. Funny. Logan had gotten lax. Usually he'd had to pick the man's lock. Not that locked doors ever posed any kind of deterrent to him.

He and Max walked into the house and through the archway that lead to the living room. They found Logan pacing by the fireplace reading through sheaves of paper. Catching sight of them, he stopped mid-turn, the documents fluttering from his grasp, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Max! You're okay, thank God." Logan closed the distance between himself and Max in what could only be described as a leap.

He moved so quickly that Alec barely had time to utter a greeting. Logan caught Max in an enveloping hug and kissed her.

Time seemed to slow to a standstill when Logan's face drifted to Max's and his mouth met hers. Max's whole body went rigid, but Logan didn't seem to notice. His lips moved over hers in a desperate motion.

Alec felt like someone sucker punched him in the gut. The kiss only lasted seconds - Logan finally realizing that he was holding embodied stone - but it was long enough to be emblazoned in his brain. Damn transgenic photographic memory. Previously he'd only had to live with pathetic longing looks and scenarios that his imagination cooked up. That had been torture enough. Now he had reality to add to that image bank. Finally able to tear his eyes away, Alec studied the floorboards fiercely wishing they hadn't come after all.

One look at Max's expression sent Logan's eyebrows to his hairline. "Max?"

Max stepped away from Logan, her hands hovering at her sides, her face as pale as milk. She stumbled back to the wall, desperately trying to control the nausea that was building in her throat. "Logan, what are you thinking?" she vented hopelessly. "Oh god, Alec we need to call someone…. We…" she realized she was rambling and she cast a panicked glance at Alec.

It had all happened so fast that she'd barely had time to process what was going on. Logan was touching her. He'd hugged her and then kissed her and she'd let him. Had he lost his mind? She was fairly sure nothing had changed since the last time they'd kissed after she'd been incommunicado and the next thing she recalled happening then was Logan collapsing on his study room floor. And what was he even doing here? What had happened to his apartment?

Alec bit back a groan at the irony of the situation. Of all people, he was going to have to break it to Max. One things was for certain, he'd be damned if he was going to bring the baby into it. "Logan's immune, Max. You're not gonna kill him. He'll be fine." _But I'm not, _he added silently.Was there somewhere he could go? Would it be so terrible if he just left her there with Logie-boy now? She couldn't be in better hands right? _Hands. _Before he could halt the process, his brain fed him the image of Logan putting his hands on Max the way he had only hours ago. He felt his skin crawl and his knuckles cracked as he unconsciously curled his fingers into fists. He suddenly had the overwhelming urge to break something hard - feel it crack and splinter under his blow, shaking off the resulting but satisfying pain in his hand as he surveyed the damage. Logan's jaw was looking very tempting. He was always so _I'm holier than thou._ _Damn_. Alec cursed inwardly and shook his head, trying to clear the dark thoughts building there, he had to get out of there before he got violent.

Frowning, Logan looked from Max to Alec and threw his hands up. "What the hell's going on here?"

Alec resisted the urge to repeat the sentiment. Since when had they resumed the touchy feely side of their relationship anyway? "Max lost her memory," he said by way of explanation.

Logan's eyes widened and his expression quickly turned apologetic. He took a step toward Max, his face falling when she flinched. He suddenly felt really stupid for allowing an impulse to rule his actions. He shouldn't have kissed her. That privilege hadn't been his for a long time. "Max, I'm sorry about before, I just…I was so relieved." He ran a hand through his hair and sank to the couch cushions. "What happened?" he asked tiredly. "We went looking for you. I tried tracking down Lydecker. It was as though you'd all vanished."

"White. He got wind of the meet. Lydecker thinks it's because they're after Max." Alec noted that Max had remained tight-lipped and she was beginning to look as confused as Logan.

"You found Lydecker?" Logan asked his brows coming together. So they had gotten out? Why hadn't they made contact before now? And how had Max lost her memory? He had about a hundred and one questions on the tip of his tongue but from the look on Max's face he realized she was as lost as he was.

"Long story," Alec said curtly. "Normally I'd love to be the one to fill everyone in but we came here for the 411 on Terminal City. What happened? Did everyone get out?" Alec folded his arms over his chest and leant against the doorframe opposite Max, eyeing her curiously. She was still quiet but at least she'd gotten a little color back into her face.

Max couldn't bring herself to look at Logan or Alec. She could feel her cheeks beginning to flame and hoped it wasn't outwardly obvious. How could she have let Logan kiss her like that? The sensation had sent her into a tailspin. She remembered kissing Logan on several different occasions all of them creating butterflies in her stomach, but somehow she knew things had never gone further than that. Kissing Logan was sweet but it wasn't intoxicating and mind blowing like kissing Alec. Alec could make her forget everything but his mouth and what his touch did to her body. Right now she felt so guilty about Logan's kiss she couldn't even meet Alec's eyes. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her want to disappear.

In the back of her mind she could hear Alec and Logan talking but she wasn't really tuned in. She was still trying to get her head around why she was feeling guilty. After all she had no idea how things were between her and Alec. Were they lovers, friends with benefits, just a solution to heat? That wasn't even beginning to address the issue of Logan. They had history - awkward, ill-timed and tense. They'd both held back because of different issues and she wasn't sure they ever really solved them even after the virus, maybe they never would. She didn't think he would ever fully understand or accept who she was. She had no doubts that he loved her and she loved him back too, in her own way but it wasn't enough. Which brought her back to Alec. How she felt about him couldn't be described in one word. Love didn't cover it. What was love? It was just a label someone had decided to slap on that thing you felt for someone when they made your heart do all sorts of weird maneuvers like splat, cramp, hammer and cabluwy when said object of 'love' made you happy, hurt you, made you jealous or was disappointed in you or vice versa. What did she feel for Alec? Lust, addiction, happiness, apprehension, admiration, a whole lot of things she didn't have the attention or energy to explore right now.

A tug at her ankle jolted her out of her thoughts. Big blue eyes gazed up at her and she felt her heart constrict in her chest. She stopped breathing and for a moment all she could hear was a roar of blood pounding in her ears.

The little girl pulled herself to standing position using Max's pant leg for support. When she was at Max's knee, she let go and put her arms up in an active question.

Max sank to the floor and pulled the child into her lap. The little girl planted a big wet kiss on her cheek and gargled happily, clapping her cubby hands together. Max let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in and felt tears prickle the back of her eyes. Looking the round expressive eyes again, she pondered how much like Logan's they were. The baby snuggled against her chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to be seeking comfort there. Max closed her eyes and her hand drifted to her abdomen. Pain sliced through her temple as she remembered the ghost of niggling movements that she'd once felt inside. There had been an overwhelming feeling of awe and love that had accompanied those sensations, as she thought about the life she was nurturing. She'd carried a child. Logan's child? Her eyes flooded and tears spilled down her cheeks. Blinking through a watery blur, Max spoke to the baby. "How come I don't remember you?" she whispered her voice breaking. Not having the nerve to look at either man, she buried her face in the baby's springy light brown curls.

Alec shot Logan a dark silent warning. If he wasn't going to set Max straight, he'd kick him into doing the right thing. He knew Max didn't remember Missy but he did. There was no mistaking how much like Gem the baby was. It pained him to know that Max was now remembering her own baby. He caught her expression even before she said those soft spoken, heart wrenching words.

Logan felt his own guilt and sense of loss returning at the sight of Max with Missy. Seeing how right they looked together almost made him not want to reveal the truth. Missy would need a mother if they didn't get Gem back. These last two days had been a struggle. Not that she'd been a difficult child. It was just that there was a void that only a mother's love and touch could fill. The ache in his chest burned in memory of how broken Max had been. He noted Alec's glare and he knew he couldn't let Max believe a lie. She'd remember eventually and he already had enough guilt to live with over the part he'd played in her pain.

The longer Logan let the silence continue, the angrier Alec felt. He knew it was going to hurt. He knew what it was going to bring back, he had been there but he also knew what would happen if they didn't correct her assumption. He wouldn't have a part in keeping something that important from her. He would die inside if she ever looked at him with scorn again. He had worked hard to earn her trust and he wasn't about to blow it just to save Logan's might-have-beens, gotta be cruel to be kind sometimes.

"Missy is Gem's daughter," Logan said his voice breaking.

Alec felt the weight of tension slip from his shoulders and glanced at Max, steeling himself for the reaction to come but she surprised him.

Max felt her throat tighten as she stared down into sparkling blue eyes. The child glanced up at the mention of a familiar sound. _Gem. _Her face broke into a grin and she excitedly bounced in Max's lap. "She's not…" she said her voice trailing off.

Max seemed to accept the words and there wasn't any more to it. Maybe her subconscious was trying to shield her from pain she wasn't ready to cope with yet. She'd definitely been on a rough enough roller coaster ride already. Alec and Logan shared a cautionary look. There was no point triggering her memory on that point if it could be avoided. So long as they'd cleared up Missy's paternity, that was enough for now. Alec pushed off the archway and straddled the chair by the fireplace. He felt like he'd just navigated a virtual mine field and he was exhausted. He'd take physical strain over an emotional taxing any day of the week.

"Gem gave birth to her the day White tried to ambush Jam Pony. Do you remember? Normal delivered her," Logan said with a half smile. The thought still tickled him. Who'd have thought? Normal, the ring leader of the local anti-transgenic movement, was the man who delivered the first Manticore-free transgenic baby.

Max closed her eyes and knew in her heart what Logan was telling her was the truth. Missy wasn't her baby. A mother wouldn't forget her child. She ruffled the little girl's hair and dropped a kiss on her forehead. Part of her was curious to know what had become of her own baby but a subtle caution told her she wasn't ready to find out yet. "Where is Gem?"

"And Joshua," Alec slotted in, noting that Logan hadn't answered his question.

Logan pursed his lips. More painful subjects. How did he tell them that Gem and Joshua were captured? "White hit Terminal City after the National Guard pulled back. Mole, Dix, Dalton, Flick and Siren got out and came here. Mole and Gem were together but Gem was taken. I put some papers together for Siren and the boys. Last word was they were headed for Mexico."

"What about Joshua?" Alec repeated, his jaw tightening. He had a feeling he already knew the answer but he needed to hear it from Logan's mouth.

"Mole said he was caught. We're hoping that White's still following the senate's order that all the transgenic are to be shipped to Alcatraz. Then at least we know they could still be alive."

Alec knew Logan was trying to sound optimistic for their sake but they all knew how much White hated the transgenics.

"It's been less than 48 hours. Mole's been checking the sewers and all his old haunts for transgenics that might have made it out. He wants to hit the Island but we don't have the manpower or the firepower. And where would you all go from there? White made sure that the public weren't aware of the attack on Terminal City. As far as they know the transgenics are all still holed up there. If you all suddenly appeared on the street the White House would have no choice but to revoke the peace agreement and then we'd be right back where we started."

"Hate to break it to you Logan, but we're probably always going to be public enemy number one," Alec scoffed. "I bet most of the Xs are at those safe houses, if we still have them and the trannies are probably around the old docks. There's still too much heat to try and leave town so they're probably waiting it out." Alec straightened and gripped the back of his chair. First thing on his list was to hook up with Mole and get a sit. rep.

"I have a good family lined up for Missy but Mole's heart set on a rescue."

Max narrowed her eyes at Logan at the mention of adopting Missy out. She noticed Alec bristle too. Missy was going to have her mom back. They'd all grown up without parents. She wasn't about to let the first free transgenic suffer the same fate.

"And he's not alone," Alec interjected the chair back cracking under his fingers. "I can get the firepower. We're not leaving Gem, Joshua and the others to White. If they're alive, they can fight all they need it for someone to crack open the cages," he finished gruffly.

Max stood up, holding Missy. "Make that three."

Alec shot her a pointed look. "Mole and I can handle this. Although, it'll make it a little easier if Logan can get us the schematics on the place," he added with a questioning glance at Logan. "I could go through my sources but it'd take longer."

"I'm going," Max argued her voice taking on a determined edge.

"Max," Logan started to protest.

"Stay out of it Logan," Max warned. "This is my family we're talking about and nobody gets left behind."

"Max, you still don't remember everything. You know I always got your back but if you got hurt..." He didn't need to say it, he hoped what he'd done for her before spoke for him. Alec got up and moved closer to her, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from instinctively hugging her. Max wasn't an outwardly touchy person and even though right now she looked like she could use a good hug, it'd probably earn him a punch in the stomach. He searched her eyes for understanding. "Besides, what if White's there? There's no way I want you anywhere near that freak." He realized his phrasing too late. She never cared much before what he thought, much less what he wanted. Although somewhere along the line, he'd assumed that what White had put him through the last couple of months gave him a right not to want her within a 100 miles of the bastard.

Max set Missy on the floor and fixed Alec with a glare. "I might not have some memories but training like ours doesn't disappear." Without hesitation she took a swing at his jaw, which he blocked. Wanting to prove her point, Max continued to attack him. His resistance to fight her back only fueling her annoyance. She dropped to a crouch, taking a low sweep at his legs, knocking him off his feet.

With a shrug he resigned that she wasn't going to let up until she was satisfied she had made her point, so he reluctantly began to throw punches of his own. He had to grin when she grabbed his wrist in a counter move and tossed him into the wall, truthfully he hadn't expected her to prove much of an opponent. Not only was she supposed to be hazy on her past but he had ten years of training on her and then some, he'd picked up some different fighting styles along the way, various away missions and turf wars. He grunted giving her a lopsided smirk and rolled his shoulders, circling her slowly. Maybe a sparring match is just what he needed to clear his head right now. "All right, Maxie," he teased waggling an eyebrow. "Bring it."

Giving her the customary hand signal to continue, Alec waited for her to attack. The first punch he blocked, anticipating her counter move he dodged to the side and grabbed her throat, bringing his heel down on her in-step in the same move. Pinning her up against the wall, he ran his stubbled chin over the softness of her cheek. "Are you scared yet?" he whispered in her ear, letting his breath fan the endrogenous spot just behind her ear.

Max growled and pushed him off, the predatory glint in his eyes and the ghost of his touch on her neck sending a jolt of electricity tearing through her tense nerves. She couldn't let him get the upper hand here. _Head in the game, Max. Don't let him rattle you. _All of a sudden a playful taunt filled her ears. "_Girls kick ass, says so on a t-shirt." _A smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she narrowed her eyes at him.

Alec slotted in calculated blows, his grin widenening as Max continued to counter and block his every move. Deciding their sparing session had gone on long enough, he moved to tackle her but she hit the floor at the last second and launched him over her head, using his own momentum against him. He went crashing into the chair he had used earlier, catching part of the seat in a very sensitive region.

Shaking the bouncing dots from his eyes, he bit back the urge to curse. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing she'd bruised his jewels on purpose a second time. The first time he'd let her distract him with a cheap ploy and he'd paid the price. He thought he knew better than to ever play nice in a fight with Max again. _She's not herself_, his conscience reminded him. He sighed, she could always win with him and somehow he continued to let her.

Alec was in the process of picking himself up out of the broken piece of furniture, when Max straddled his back and pushed him back down. Twisting his arms back in a wrestle hold, she leant over to his ear. "I'm going."

Turning his head to watch her, Alec ignored the wooden leg slowly embedding itself in his chest. "Okay, but just so you know, I let you kick my butt because I enjoy the view," he added with a knowing smile, casting his gaze over her profile in a leisurely pace.

With a huff, Max shoved his back and got up. Offering him a hand to his feet, she couldn't help but smile at the merriment she read in his eyes. He'd just been roughed up by a girl and he still had the nerve to grin like an idiot. Only Alec.

Logan watched the entire scene play out in front of him and tried to dismiss the thoughts and emotions it stirred in him. Their rivalry had evolved into a solid friendship awhile back and he'd always secretly worried that it would turn into something more. If he was being honest with himself, he had felt threatened by the younger man from he first day Alec had casually shown up in his doorway, claiming to want to hook up with a transgenic. He always knew that the younger man was going to spell trouble for Max. Alec reminded him of how Max had been when they first met. A free spirit, looking to just make it from day-to-day, not caring about what happened to the rest of the world so long as she stayed off the radar. He felt threatened because even though he didn't like to admit it, he had always known that Max needed someone who could relate to her on all levels.

Max had explained that she'd used Alec as an excuse to push him away in the past and that there wasn't anything between them. That might have been true four months ago but it was obvious that there was something now. It was in an unmistakable vibe that crackled between them. For a moment it was as though they'd completely forgotten he was in the room and he couldn't quash the sting of jealousy he felt. He told himself that he loved Max enough to see her happy but he couldn't help wishing he was the one she had chosen. "I'll call Mole."


	11. I know you

**Author's Notes: (24/9/07) **The first upload of this chapter got cut. Somehow huge chucks got edited out and I didn't even notice. Sorry my bad. I should have read the preview instead of just glancing at it. Pity my word processor doesn't have a word count feature or that could have been a clue that there was something wrong. It should make a lot more sense now - src13.

* * *

**Several hours later**

Alec and Max went to the address Mole had relayed via Logan, after having made a quick stop at their old housing block on Oak Street for some clothes and supplies. The rendezvous location was a halfway house of sorts they'd set up if TC was ever compromised. It was a large place, big enough to house lots of bodies till they could figure out how to get their people out of Seattle. Consolidating their people in one location was no longer an option till they figured out how to salvage the mess White had made of their shaky stand-down treaty. The transhumans were still scattered around but from Mole's update, he managed to convince a couple to help with the rescue mission.

While Logan worked on getting them satellite coverage for the area over Alcatraz, Mole had secured transport, and Alec had talked to his guys in Koreatown and the Chinese Triad in Sector 2. On a mission with Xen, a fellow X5, a couple of years ago in Shanghai he'd made a few friends in the Triad. They were guys you never rubbed the wrong way and more than helpful when you were in a jam. He'd established contact a week after Manticore went down and done a couple debt collection jobs for them before he'd taken the ring as Monty Cora. Nothing that involved assassination, he was done with dealing out death now that he had a choice. After all the dead couldn't pay. Just a bit of roughing up and threats of more grievous harm if money wasn't paid up. He was a bartering man, he didn't expect freebies and he didn't like having I owe yous. He always made it clear that he was there to trade. No killing, but if they needed goods or money to be acquired, he was the man for the job.

A couple hours spent in Sector 12 and Sector 2 and he had flash grenades, tear gas, detonators, a couple packets of C4 and two assault rifles and a few extra magazines. He'd get Dix to help him cut the explosives into smaller packages, make it go further. They managed to salvage some ammunition from Terminal City not nearly enough firepower to wage a small war but perhaps enough to create a distraction till they could get their people out. After that it would be escape and evade. Logan was working on acquiring all their communication frequencies, but as their first task they were going to set off a mini-pulse in the operations tower to fry all their systems. Anything that survived the blast would be blocked by Logan's jamming signal.

"Time to run over our plan people," Mole said around his cigar.

Max straightened by the table where she'd been studying the schematics of the prison layout and looked over to where Alec and Dix had been working on packing the C4. They hadn't spoken much, it was pretty much knuckle down from the moment they'd arrived. She'd had time to change her clothes and read over a few of Terminal City's old situation reports before Logan had e-mailed through the Island's blueprints. "When are the rest of the team getting here?"

"That would be now," a young woman with piercing green eyes announced as she walked down the stairs to where their group was congregated. She was followed by a panther-like transhuman and an arctic model. "The ferry's all gased up and ready to go."

Mole acknowledged her with a nod and his eyes twinkled with mischief when he made eye-contact with the panther-lady.  
Alec shifted his attention back to the table and continued packing the C4, shrugging off the sudden tension that had tightened the muscles in his neck. She looked an awful lot like the feline he'd killed in the sewer. Twin, clone, sister maybe?

"Ana, Midnight and Andy," Mole said with a gesture to their newcomers. "Ana didn't join us till you guys disappeared. Midnight and Andy, well us transhumans tend to stick to our own."

Dix wrapped the last package and handed it to Alec to put in his backpack. "So have we sorted who's where?"

Both of them moved to join Max and Mole's table along with the rest of the group as they looked over the layout of the island.  
"We figure that the best plan is misdirection," Max said leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. "We don't have a lot of anything, least of all time."

"Keep them busy running in circles while we get our people out," Mole added. "We'll come in from two different points," he said dotting the map with the tip of his knife. "Here and here. If figure you and Max can handle the sub-entry." He glanced at Alec before nodding to his Arctic friend. "Andy and I will take out the heliport and the wharf, while Ana takes the ferry back out. We'll get our people to meet us at the old docks. Ordinaries don't use it because the access stairs are decayed but for our guys it should be a piece'a cake."

"I guess that means I'll be taking out the tower," Midnight said with a purr, clapping her fur covered hands together with a gleeful smile. "I've been itching for a good stretch."

Alec raised an eyebrow and unconsciously began chewing his thumbnail. Max noticed his change in demeanor and finished going over the plan, making a mental note to talk to him about it later.

"Mole will use the grenades for the coastal attack while we break in through the mining tunnels. By the time we hit the cell blocks, Midnight will have blown the surveillence and communications and getting our people out should be easy. It's getting off the island that's the problem. If we fill the water transgenics more than half of them will be picked up by the coastguard before they make it to land."

"They have to use some method of transport to get them to transfer them to the Island," Alec said thoughtfully.

Ana pointed to a spot at the corner of the map. "They use a small container ship out of San Francisco. I'll go over the logs and I'll have a name for you in about an hour. Once we know when it moves and who to hail, Dix and I can organize the second transport out. Thing is our people won't be home free till they hit the city and we don't have a lot of time before they managed to communicate the breech."

"We'll just have to hit them like a wall of fire," Mole said gruffly. "Shouldn't be a problem, hey Andy," he added with a smirk.

"Or like an Arctic blizzard," he countered through narrowed eyes.

"I can wipe the floor with both your asses, so just shut it already," Midnight snapped with a hiss.

Max snickered and cast a glance at Alec who was still strangely silent. _What was he thinking_, she wondered. He hadn't said more than a handful of words the whole time they'd been here. Except of course when he'd been working, explaining things to Dix. "I guess we're all set then?"

Midnight had tuned out a little after giving Mole the evil eye. She had to deal with their bickering over their prowess on a daily basis. They didn't even have to have a female audience to egg them on. A bunch of testosterone charged teenagers the both of them. She hated playing mother-hen to her late twin's boyfriend. Ever since they'd lost Kitty it was as though all she did was keep Mole from getting himself in hot water. Thankfully he'd managed to save his own scaly butt and others the day they lost their stronghold. This rescue mission had become his focus since then and she welcomed the distraction it provided to his ranting over everything that was wrong in the world.

Mole was still smarting from losing a bet to Skate, another Arctic model. Even though both of them had ended up in the infirmary, Mole lost because he'd passed out first. Midnight had closed the door in his face the night he'd come around after getting over his hypothermia, still sporting scarring from frost bite on his nose and bandages on his fingers. With the blackened tip, he'd almost looked more canine than reptilian. He had been looking for a sympathetic female to stoke his wounded ego, and she'd sent him packing because she hadn't intended to playing nursemaid to his stupidity. Sitting in front of a blast freezer - what had the idiot been thinking - cold blooded moron. That was the clincher, he hadn't been thinking. However she was beginning to see what had attracted Kitty to the man. He was real rough around the edges but underneath the layers of thick scales was a teddy bear and a good heart. He was born leader material and the fact that he didn't look human never stopped him from anything he set about achieving, which right now was getting their people back.

"We sail out when Coast Guard makes his 1310 circuit. That'll give you about 40 minutes to do your thing," Mole said jabbing his smoldering cigar in Ana's direction.

"No problem, if I don't finish up here I can work on it in transit. We've got plenty of water to cover."

**On the ferry**

They'd sailed out to open water with no interference. Which gave Max pause to wonder why she hadn't considered taking to the sea before. Probably the feline DNA and the fact that sailing solo would be a very lonely existence. That and she had always wanted to track down her siblings. Before Manticore went down it's how she'd spent every spare penny she earned and most of her down time. It helped not needing as much sleep as ordinaries and most transgenics for that matter. B & E was best done at night and so was tracking down people with any connection to a covert government project.

She had tried to get Alec to talk about what was bothering him during their mission briefing but he'd shrugged it off as fatigue. A niggling feeling told her not to buy it but when he'd started massaging his temples and muttered something about the swaying of the boat giving him a migraine, she'd let it drop. He'd gone below deck after that, leaving her alone with her thoughts. He'd obviously never had to test his sea legs before. Which was kind of strange considering how much time they spent in or underwater when they were kids. Guess floating on it wasn't the same thing.

Sun down was approaching and the sky took on splay of purple and red-hues. The waves rippled as far as the eye could see, to her left she could just make out the landscape they were passing by with her telescopic vision. Things were coming back to her in snippets. Her siblings, the escape, Lydecker, seeing some of her brothers and sisters again grown up. She remembered one of her first conversations with Mole when they'd first met. It if could be called a conversation. They'd sized each other up and he'd acknowledged her with a nod and a grunt.

_"Joshua seems to have a soft spot for you. Guess it makes you okay for an X-series."_ It wasn't till she'd scored him a box of Cubans while intercepting a mobsters' trade off that he'd really warmed to her. It was a twitch of a smirk as she'd tossed him the goods that he'd given her. _"Thanks princess."_ He was one of the few that she acknowledged with the use of a nickname. Before she and Alec had joined the ranks of Terminal City, Mole was the man-in-charge and he'd kept things going but after their secret was out, the dynamic had changed and it became necessary for everyone to come together and that meant balanced representation in leadership for X-series and transhumans.

"You're up, sister," Midnight said as she passed Max before heading down the hatch.

Max made her way to the navigation deck, trudging up the short flight of steps to the helm. With a smile, she took the wheel from Mole. He clapped her on the shoulder and headed out the way she'd come. Midnight and Mole had taken the first shift. It didn't really matter who had the wheel since they were all equipped with night vision to some degree, however since Mole had done the recon on the harbor they agreed that he'd be best to navigate them to open water.

Pulling up a stool, Max settled herself into a position that would be comfortable for the next few hours. Taking inventory of the stars that were beginning to appear, she referred back to the virtual map in her head.

"Care for some company?" a soft voice asked.

Max glanced to her right to see Ana lounging against the open window. Her hair bellowed out behind her with the breeze and she had a thoughtful smile on her lips. "Sure, I didn't even hear you come up."

For the first time since meeting the woman, Max wondered which unit she'd belonged to. She looked like an X5, but her eyes seemed to reveal wisdom far beyond her years. It was true that all of them had experienced a lot that most adults never saw in their entire lifetime, but she was thinking a different sort of world-wise. Her eyes sparkled with a keen intelligence. Ana seemed quietly magnificent. She was about to query her new ally but Alec stole the words right out of her mouth.

"So what are you, Ana? X5, X6, PSYOPs..." he trailed off resisting the urge to shiver. He continued up the stairs and across the deck to where Max sat, eyeing Ana with a casual assessment. His run in with Mia and Dex had brought enough of what he'd thought he'd managed to forget to the forefront of his mind. Meeting another of Manticore's mind-bending alumni was not on his short list of things to do but knowing his luck, Ana was probably their star pupil.

"You can think of me as your personal intelligence processor," Ana said nonchalantly.

"Right, like Brian," Alec said lightly massaging the back of his neck. Either he'd slept wrong or all the stress of their situation was finally catching up with him. Probably both he resigned with a sigh. His head was still a bit weighty, the constant pitch and roll had stirred his vision till he felt a pounding in his temples. A power nap had seemed have settled things down but he now had a case of dry mouth and foggy brain.

"Brain," Ana and Max corrected together.

Alec looked at Max questioningly. "You remember him?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Max shrugged. "Big guy, smart, adorable in his own way...kind'a hard to forget."

Ana smiled at her comment and Alec frowned. She didn't remember half of the stuff they'd done together but she remembered Brain with whom they'd spent no more than two days with. Sure he had been a genius of sorts but obviously he'd left more than a passing impression on Max. He shook off the thought and shoved his hands in his pockets narrowing his eyes at Ana. She might have come from the same production line as their heavy friend but certainly not in the looks department. She was very easy on the eyes. "So who were you assigned to at Manticore?" he asked in passing.

"At first we were fed data on all the X5s, but later when they began sending you on solo missions we were given individual subjects," Ana gave him a pointed look and when he didn't get the hint, she rolled her eyes. Alec might make the girls swoon with a smile but he had given her more than her fair share of grief over the years, and considered herself immune to his charm. Still a little slow on the uptake. She shook her head slightly. What did he do with that superior IQ of his?

Alec felt as though someone had taken a sledge hammer to his head as the weight of her words started to piece together. "You were watching me?" he asked his voice wavering.

Ana knew the implication behind his accusation and hesitated in answering. Max hadn't missed the hitch in Alec's voice and looked at her in curious anticipation too. "I did what all our unit were assigned to do - watch and assess." She knew where his thoughts were headed and seriously hoped, as slim as the probability was that he'd drop the subject.

"You knew about Rachel?"

Cringing inwardly, Ana chewed the inside of her cheek. There was no easy answer to that. She knew everything and then some. "I knew of her," she said choosing her words carefully.

Alec closed the distance between them till there was barely a breath between them. He searched her eyes for signs of callousness, for betrayal, he wanted a reason to beat out the hurt and frustration that had suddenly come bubbling up. She knew about Rachel. She knew all about his mission. Heck, she'd probably known that he'd fall for Rachel before they'd even met. And she'd what, his conscience challenged. She let it happen, he seethed silently. His shoulders sagged in defeat as the hopelessness of these emotions set in and he took a step back. What did it matter anyway? Rachel was gone. This was their past. They were Manticore. He'd done what he had to, to survive. Ana had too. Understanding what it cost to go against orders, how could he blame her for that? She could have warned me... the thought trailed off as he resigned to the knowledge of how futile that would have been. The fact that they'd never met before now told him it would have been impossible for her to communicate with him in any way.

"I'm sorry, Alec," Ana said softly, not daring to offer more comfort than that.

Alec turned away, unable to face what he saw in her eyes, not wanting to see the memories mirrored there.

He was doing what he was best at, burying the hurt, she concluded inwardly. It was his way of surviving. She'd had misgivings about his readiness for solo deployment but his superiors were itching to use their resource. Alec had actually been one of the last in his unit to be signed for solo missions. All that time in PSYOPs because of the '09-ers and then his psychotic twin had held them back. Their greatest concern, not wanting to send a faulty product into the field alone. He'd been cleared and she could sense that they were growing tired of watching a million-dollar asset sitting on the shelf. She knew that if he wasn't allowed this chance, he might not get another for a very long time, if ever. They'd sell him to some other covert government arm for goodness knows what or worse, they'd retire him for donor parts.

In the end, her handler's penchant for straight out numbers had allowed her to keep her doubts about his readiness to herself. Her superior had asked if 494 was fit for deployment based on the mission brief alone. She'd given Alec a rating of 87.6 probability of success. After all, his objective was low level espionage. Child's play. The assassination order didn't come into the equation till later. Although she'd factored it as a deviation from the very beginning. The man wouldn't have been on Manticore's radar if he didn't already know too much. She had detailed that how much Berrisford possibly knew about the X-series and, or that the daughter wouldn't take to 494 as a tutor, a negative factors in her calculations, impacting her final assessment. In response, her superior hadn't offered more than the usual, _"That'll be all."_

The next she'd heard was that the girl had fallen for Alec and they wanted an updated probability. 494's handler wanted to know if the girl's feelings would weigh negatively on his objective. After surveying a briefing session Alec had with his handler, Ana knew that the damage had already been done. She had, had no choice but to tell her superior that the probability of Alec completing the termination were less than favorable. It hadn't been the first time she'd incurred the razor eyes from her handler for stalling. He hated repeating himself, he was a man of numbers. He didn't ask for her feelings or input beyond punching out statistics and outcomes. Black and white, no screwing around. Ordinarily they got on fine. He would ask the questions, she would give her answers and they'd go back to their respective tasks. Hers consisting of watching and listening to endless streams of media on X5-494 and writing dossiers on his behavior, psychology and competency. His tasks - well - she didn't dwell on what her handler's job entailed. That was classified as a distraction.

Ana was almost certain that Alec would end up in reindoctrination and worse because of his failure. Something she never anticipated though was how hard he'd fallen for this 'Rachel'. Watching the reindoctrination process, the return to PSYOPs, the weeks in solitary, her heart had bled along with his. It wasn't completely her fault that he'd failed the mission but she'd indured her own share of punishment without resentment anyway. She didn't argue that they hadn't given her all the information on the mission, that she was an intelligence analyst not a fortune teller. She took her punishment with dignity and silence. Unlike the most of the X-series, intelligence models hadn't been bred for optimal regenerative ability or strength, they were meant to be background figures and if ever at risk of exposure, their stealth ability would come into play. Unless they intentionally drew an audience, it was as though they were invisible.

Over the years she'd developed something akin to affection for the quiet, hazel-eyed transgenic and somehow she felt connected to him in a small way. Perhaps it was because she felt she knew him better than anyone. His failure felt like her failure, and because of that she felt like she owed him for not being able to save him. Failure brought punishment and Manticore knew how to deal out punishment well. Neither of them had come out of the experience the same. You could say they both lost their innocence. What innocence one could have growing up being taught you were replaceable and the only value you held was your usefulness in that moment and the success proved. Alec had developed a nonchalant, sarcastic, audacious streak which sometimes bordered on self-destructive when watchful eyes weren't around. They'd both played along after that, and she knew buried under the outward Manticore-soldier-automon, hardened by pain and torment was the boy she'd grown up watching - the warm-eyed, quiet-natured, big-hearted blonde who's rare genuine smile would light up a room.

Grasping his shoulder, she stepped around to face him. "They days of us hiding behind a mask are over now, Alec. I hope you know what," Ana said, her clear green eyes boring into his. She knew what he did with unsolicited advice in the past, but she hoped that in the time they'd been free from Manticore that his defenses had softened.Dropping her hand, she backed away. With a glance at Max, she tilted her head thoughtfully. Perhaps he had.

Max watched a deeply pained look come over both their faces when the name Rachel was spoken by Alec. Her chest tightened in empathy for him. He must have cared about her a lot. An unconscious tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and a memory flashed into her mind.

_Alec sat at a dying girl's bedside. Tears spilled down his face and he hugged her limp form. She remembered how surprised she felt watching him like that. She didn't know he was capable of caring for someone, much less an Ordinary someone. She'd been special to him. He had kept saying how sorry he was._

Manticore had ordered him to make an assassination and when he hadn't completed his mission, they'd done it for him. It had to have cost him dearly. Both the loss of Rachel and the punishment for his disobedience. Quashing her doubts, she let go of the wheel and drew him into a tight hug. At first she felt his shock but it faded almost immediately, he held her and crushed her to his chest. She felt a sob in his throat that he refused to release and she pressed a gentle kiss to his jaw. Tilting her head back, she caught his moist eyes. "I'm so sorry Alec. I'm sorry you couldn't save her."

Alec closed his eyes and kissed her forehead, taking comfort in the warmth of her embrace. She had offered to help him before, asked him if he wanted to talk. Even though she'd sounded sincere, he hadn't been ready to take up her offer. Thinking back to that moment and his reaction when she'd said that, he doubted there would have ever been a time he'd open up to Max. Things were different now. And the words she'd just spoken held so many different meanings for him - she was sorry for what Manticore made them do, sorry for all the torture he'd had to endure in the years gone by and everything that was happening now because of who they were. In that very moment as he held her and she held him, he didn't think he it was possible to love her anymore, but he did. Her gesture lessened the pain and made him feel like maybe the future wasn't so bleak. Did she know how she made him feel? Did she know how much she meant to him? He wished he could tell her but he held his tongue. Telling her now would only confuse her more, maybe even push her away once she got all her memories back. He squeezed her once more and let her go with gentle kiss to her temple. "I think we're drifting," he said smirk.

Max flashed him a glare and shoved him in the chest. "Thanks smart-alec. Way to kill the moment."

"Aw but you still love me don'tcha, Maxie?" Alec gave her his best impression of lovable puppy dog eyes.

Max snorted a laugh and stuck out her tongue at him as she took the wheel. "Don't call me, Maxie."

"Okay then, princess," he taunted. Quickly shooting down the stairs, while a chair cushion sailed harmlessly past the back of his head.

Max huffed and sat down on her now, cushion-less chair. _Why do men always want to have the last word?_

"Because they loved to see how riled they can get us. Shows them we care," Ana said with a slight grin.

Max met her eyes and returned the smile. She'd forgotten she was there again. Must be something in the DNA.


	12. Launching an assault

**Author's Notes: (**9/10/07) Hopefully this chapter won't suffer the same fate as the previous. I've checked this one through at it looks okay in the preview section... Enjoy

* * *

**On deck, two hours to midnight**

It was Dix's shift at the wheel and Max had gone below deck for a cat nap. They healed faster while they slept and she wanted to be at the top of her game when they hit White's base. Midnight had given her some special tea to help her sleep. Considering they had cat in their genes, the feline had figured it would probably work just as well on them as it did her.

Alec didn't want to admit it but he was avoiding her. He didn't want to get too close. He'd watch over her and protect her with his life but until he had the 'old' Max back he felt he couldn't afford to let himself feel too much. Watching her with Missy had hit him harder than he realized. It had brought back a lot of guilt over things he'd done to disappoint her or cause her pain in the past and feeling her eyes on him all the time only made it worse. He had this inkling that she wanted to ask him something, get him to talk, about what he wasn't sure but there were some things he was sure he couldn't talk about. He couldn't risk a confrontation and he'd already promised himself he would stop lying to her.

So here he was sitting on the railing, feet dangling over the water, sea air whipping through his hair and star dotted sky glittering above.

"Looking at you, one wouldn't be crazy in assuming you had half the mind to jump."

Alec turned at the sound of her voice and easily swung around to drop back to the deck. "Nah, never been that keen a swimmer," he answered with a smirk.

Ana rubbed her arms through her thin denim jacket. They weren't built weather conditioning, and the chill of the ocean was almost hitting her bone deep. If they hadn't been so tight on time she would have insisted on going back to her apartment for better clothing.

"Here," Alec shrugged off his leather jacket and put it around her slim shoulders.

Ana studied him in surprised, her eyes moistening. It was just a casual gesture but one that conveyed so much more. It implied he cared. Nobody had ever cared for her before. Nothing beyond ensuring that she was operational. And being reminded on a daily basis that you were expendable if you'd outgrown your usefulness quickly obliterated any sense of sentimentality attached to the methodical ministrations of doctors or nurses tending to her while she recovered from the latest course of immunity building therapies. "Thanks," she managed, her voice thick with emotion.

"No problem," Alec said, his tone betraying nothing of his thoughts as he leaned against the railing with his forearms. He'd noted the sheen in her eyes and wondered what it had been like for her. Had she been experimented on, indoctrinated, broken and put back together more times than he cared to remember? It boggled his mind when he thought about the diversity of Manticore's experiments. They were all so different, yet they had lived under the same master. Probably fed the same propaganda too. He studied her out the corner of his eye. Outwardly she looked like she could pass as an X5, but only at first glance. She was quietly controlled, her eyes spoke of keen intelligence yet lacked ice or bitterness of one who'd experienced too much death, she obviously felt pain more easily too, if her slight shivers and goosebumps were any indication. Really looking at her, she contradicted everything one would be inclined to believe about a Manticore's prodigies. If she wanted to, she could have escaped and integrated into society unnoticed. "Why did you stick around after White's assault on Terminal City? Most of the X-series have gone to ground."

Ana wrapped the folds of Alec's jacket tighter across her chest and came to stand next to him at the rail before answering. "Mole needed help. He has great leadership qualities and field experience but there was no way he would have been able to put this together on his own." She saw a hint of a knowing smirk creep across Alec's lips and knew he was imagining Mole's response to her assessment of him. "Besides, I knew you'd be back."

Alec quirked an eyebrow at that but avoided her attempt to bait him into talking about himself. "You feel more comfortable around them don't you? Mole and the gang."

For the first time since seeing him again, Alec surprised her. She thought she had him pegged, obviously he did use his power of observation from time to time. "Too many memories," she explained.

Being surrounded by ordinaries had frustrated her. It was supremely difficult to get their attention and watching them fall into avoidable mistakes time and again just about drove her crazy. Transgenics on the other hand were a different matter. A lot of the older ones had baggage that they refused to let go of and it followed them around black cloud. The tightly coiled suppressed emotions sent shivers down her spine. When she saw them, she saw Manticore. The transhumans were different, shunned by everyone yet happily industrious in making something of their newfound freedom. Best of all, they were uncomplicated. Most of them had never heard of PsyOps or re-indoctrination. For others it had been their first glimpse of blue sky. There was something captivating about watching someone discovering the world for the first time. The vulnerable, excited, wide-eyed innocence. That innocence had been lost far too quickly but thankfully, her friends been able to work through the hurt and accept their position. Dix had been the most inspirational. He'd lost an eye during the one and only mission Manticore had used him for, after which they'd thrown him in the basement without another thought. After the escape, he'd devoured every book he could get his hands on, keen to make use of his sponge of a brain that had lay in waste for so many years. He was one of the few how could handle her thought processes. It had been really nice to find a like mind.

At her pained look, Alec assumed she was probably referring to their time at Manticore studying the X5s. Made sense that she'd want to stay clear of them.

"It's different with you though." She said with a side glance and a smile. "I think you've been a pain in my ass so long that I'd miss you...I did you know," she added quietly after a beat. "By the time I made all the connections and tracked you to Terminal City, you'd disappeared. I started in San Diego, considering your history there it figured a 76 probability. Ran into a couple of guys from your unit but you never showed."

Alec gave her a half smile, mirth dancing in his eyes. Before Max, the whole barn and White episode he'd been planning his road trip down South. Manticore had a small base of operations in San Diego that had still been active four months before the Seattle base went down. He figured it was worth checking out for supplies. Government guys were always sloppy when cleaning up. They'd probably left a lot of fence worthy product, and as a side bonus he'd be just a leap away from the Mexican border. Max had shot a lot of his plans to smithereens. From the moment they'd met he'd felt it. Barely a blip on his radar at first, this undeniable pull she had but it had quickly grown into a unbreakable noose around his neck. Caring about Max was a blessing and a curse. He had resigned to the despairing knowledge that he could never voluntarily leave her side. Unless she asked him to. For a brief moment he remembered the look of loathing and pain in her eyes after his life had cost her the cure. She'd told him to go. His heart ached in his chest. The memory of her stance, her face and her words hurt even more now than it did then.

There was a flash of pain in his hazel eyes but other than that his face was an unreadable mask. It was something he'd always had trouble hiding, It was a genetic defect. His eye color changed ever so slightly with his emotions. Controlled repression had made it less obvious but to the trained eye it, it was still detectable. Lucky for Alec the Manticore COs and lab techs weren't blessed with transgenic sight. "Max, huh?" Ana guessed with a thoughtful tilt of her head.

Alec felt a slight tinge of heat creep across his cheeks and scratched behind his ear, running his hand through the hair at the back of his head. An unconscious nervous habit.

Ana grinned and nudged him with her shoulder. "Actually, she's the one that lead me to Terminal City." At Alec's raised eyebrow and baffled expression, she continued. "I went to Crash, befriended a very enchanting African-American woman. We got talking about the transgenic fight and she told me about Max. I figured a woman like that wouldn't escape your attention..." she trailed off regarding him thoughtfully from the corner of her eye as they both stared out across the water. "Mole says a mission went sideways."

"Yeah, White got a bead on us," Alec said pushing his hands into his jean pockets.

When Alec did add anything further, Ana decided to change the subject. It was obvious that he and Max were still working through the repercussions of that experience, a lot could happen in the space of five minutes in their lives, four months was probably another lifetime of hurt that wouldn't easily be erased. The fact that Max wasn't herself, Mole's own words, and Alec's inadvertent behavior around her told Ana all she needed to know on that score. Ana made a note to look out for Max. She was important to Alec. Which meant that the woman now fell in what was classified as priority to her. They weren't at Manticore anymore and he wasn't her job but his survival had become integral to her years ago. If fact, he was probably the closest thing she had to a brother. With how deeply she understood him and the connection she felt to him, she could have been his twin in the place of 493. After all he'd been through, he deserved this chance to be happy and if she could help with that, she'd do all she could to ensure it happened.

"We should probably catch some zzzs. Isn't it your shift next?"

Ana shrugged. "Never really slept much. Must have nocturne in the blood. Do crash every once in awhile though. Odd month here or there for a couple days. Manticore never gave us time off. Shot us full of adrenaline boosters. I think the only down time we got was in the Infirmary. I swear all that wears gonna catch up with me before I hit 30."

Alec hadn't thought about the future much but now that she'd said it, the thought of their bodies living to old age seemed unlikely. They might have tricked up genes but they were still mortal. He didn't think it was odd that he'd never pictured himself gray haired and wrinkled. Living under threat kind of kept you from having any fantasies about living to an age were you died a so called 'natural death'. Did they have an expiration date? Did the normal parameters apply? Eat, rest and keep the physique up and you live longer? He couldn't imagine functioning at full capacity going days without sleep, let alone weeks on end. He found it hard enough to related to Max's sometimes seemingly boundless energy. It was actually nice to feel like they were actually keeping the same pace for a change. The heat had really knocked the fireball out of her. "I'm gonna hit the galley, see if there's anything worth eating down there. Want anything?"

Ana angled her head to look over at him. "I could use a sugar hit."

Alec chuckled. "Maybe you're part bat with the no-sleep, beady eyes and sweet-tooth thing."

Ana punched him in the arm and glared. "Beady eyes!" she said with a screech. She was insulted. Out of all her physical features she felt her eyes were her greatest attribute - expressive, deep green eyes the color of a lush tropical jungle or a priceless emerald jewel. Having him make fun of them was wounding.

"Beady in a cute endearing way."

Ana snorted. "Says the man who believes he's God's gift. Save the smooth talking for the marks, Alec. You don't fool me."

Clucking to himself, Alec walked away leaving Ana seething at his back, rigid with agitation. She was fun to bait, but not as much fun as Max. Ana wasn't nearly as physical, not by a long shot. Her punch hadn't even left a bruise. He really missed feisty Max. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled reminding him of the close brush with her soft projectile. She was on the way back. Even though the thought elated him, there was a niggling doubt in the pit of her stomach. What if she didn't need him, or worse, what if she didn't want him once that happened?

**San Francisco Bay, 1 a.m.**

Alec was busy checking the valves and gauges on their oxygen tanks while Ana stood over him with sporting a frown. What now? Was her sixth sense tingling? He'd heard first hand from Mole that she'd been onboard with the planning for this Op. from the get go. "Spill it," he said in exasperation.

"I'm coming with you," Ana said folding her arms across her chest. She still had his jacket, which dwarfed her frame and even with her narrowed eyes she looked far from intimidating.

"What? I thought you were supposed to be watching the boat?" Alec stood and dusted his hands on the legs of his wetsuit, staring down at her.

Ana tilted her head to look up at him, staring back with unflinching intensity. "I set up automatic controls. It'll navigate to the rendezvous point at the designated time."

Alec rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. Of course she'd thought of everything.

"Besides, the more hands the better right?" she offered with a grin.

"I don't know, are you even field trained?" Alec eyed her with a scrutinizing gaze.

Lips set into the defiant line, Ana put her hands on her hips. "Please, I was optimized for stealth, I'll blend in better than you."

Right now she looked pixie-size and about as damaging as a fifth-grader. Alec clamped his teeth down on his bottom lip resisting the urge to laugh. Pitting her against any of White's guys would be like throwing a lamb to the wolves. That mental image quickly chased all the humor from his countenance.

Max trudged stairs rolling her shoulders, trying to get comfortable in the overly snug fit of the scuba suit. Sensing Alec before she saw him, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealous as she watched to the exchange between the two. Ana was a pretty girl and she seemed really comfortable around Alec. They had history. History they both remembered, which was more than she could say for herself at the moment.

Max shook her head and flipped her ponytail. These feelings were unwarranted. She didn't have a claim on him did she? He could flirt with anyone he liked. Even as that thought formed she felt a surge of anger, she could would breaking the said female's fingers if they even hinted more than plutonic gestures. Pursing her lips into a thin line, Max forced herself to look away and head for the bridge where Mole and the rest of their party were gathered. What did she want from Alec anyway? He hadn't really said what they were. Did she want him to say he was her boyfriend, did she want him to claim her as his girl? Her cheeks flushed. _Alec's girl. _The sentiment caused butterflies in her stomach.

A hand snaked around her waist and she was pulled into a sideways hug. Alec nuzzled her hair briefly and smiled down at her before releasing her again. "You ready?"

Max blushed, her heart doing a flip-flop in her chest. She barely held back a moan of disappointment at his brief contact before pushing aside her feelings and giving him a confident smile. Where was this needy girly vibe coming from? "I'm always ready."

Alec chuckled nudging her playfully. "And I thought that was my line. I guess that means we gear up. After you," he said waving her in the direction of the bridge.

**The washroom, Alcatraz base**

While Alec and Ana headed up the sewer tunnel toward the washroom, Max had taken a separate tunnel that led to the greenery. Since they were taking out more than block they figured it was better they split up. The faster they got their people out, the less resistance they'd face. They had comms. if he so much as heard White over the radio he'd be on Max like shadow. Of course he hadn't told her that, it wasn't part of the plan and the last thing he wanted was to trigger another sparring session with an audience. It was bad enough that he kept letting her kick his ass, he didn't need his peers thinking he'd gone soft.

Alec climbed the ladder and peered through the gate. The lights flickered overhead and he cursed softly. Either they were early and Midnight hadn't triggered the pulse yet, or they were late and someone had already reset the breakers.

All of a sudden the lights above them cut out and deep in the tunnels an echoing thud of machines grinding to a halt sounded. "Guess that's our cue," Alec said with a smirk.

Ana huffed quietly and waited impatiently as he pushed the manhole cover aside quietly. Alec pulled himself out of the hole and helped Ana through. Down below they heard a whirring noise. The power was coming back. Quickly putting the cover back in place, they dove for the cover of a shower wall as the lights above cut the darkness.

Before they could move out of the shadows, they heard voices on the level above.

"Delta sweeping F block, washrooms and laundry."

They heard him on the stairs and Alec realized with certainty that they were about to engage whether they wanted to or not. So much for staying under the radar till after they'd broken their people out. He went into attack position and almost let out a squeak of surprise when Ana threw him back against the wall and plastered herself against him. Alec's face was smothered in the golden veil of her hair and he was about to blow it clear when she squeezed his wrist.

"Don't move," she said her voice barely a whisper.

The guard continued to get closer till he was at the end of their row. He shone his torch ahead and then slowly arched it back.

Ana could feel Alec's heart thundering against her chest and her own rhythm wasn't much different. She knew she was trembling, she could feel her legs threatening to buckle from underneath her. She'd never had to fight for her life before, the situation had never presented itself. Her combat experience consisted of a few hours learning and experimenting with moves on a gym mat. She had also never even fired a gun before. Although she hadn't told Alec that when he dropped a 37mm in her hand.

Resisting the urge to attack, Alec stayed deathly still. He swore his heart skipped a beat when he felt the heat of the torchlight illuminate their hiding place. He thought till stood still the entire time it's beam was fixed on them, which in reality could not have been more than a few seconds. The light shifted and through her hair he noticed the man turn and walk back the way he had come. As the footsteps receded, he felt Ana sag against him.

"How did you do that?"

Ana pumped her fists to work out the last of her frayed nerves. "We were designed to go unnoticed. Sometimes I wonder what ordinaries see."

"So what? You're supposed to be invisible?"

Ana shrugged. "I don't know. Did you ever notice me Alec?"

"What do you mean, we never met before." Alec frowned down at her.

"I was always watching you Alec. If you'd noticed, you would have seen me." Ana shook off the feeling of hurt that had washed over her and caused a tightening in her throat. This was no time to get soppy, they had a job to do. "We should get moving."

Alec shook his head and blinked. The boundaries of his comprehension kept stretching, it'd take a while to get his head around this one though. How could he see, but not really see? Grabbing his pack, he followed Ana as she took off for the stairs.

**A short distance from the shoreline**

Mole and Andy shifted anxiously in the dingy awaiting their signal. "Midnight should have set it by now."

"Maybe she ran into a little trouble?" Andy said arranging his small arsenal for the fifth time.

Mole snorted and cracked his fingers. He was itching for a cigar. The smell, the taste and the smoke seemed to soothe this nerves in any situation. Pity this one called for stealth for the moment or he would have lit up an hour ago. After Max, Alec and Ana had left for the underwater tunnels, they'd left Dix at the main jetty for the ship to arrive. His job was to get onboard and take control. From their he'd steer it to the old jetty on their inside crew's signal.

A surge of bright blue light illuminated the sky for a brief moment, originating from the lighthouse and Mole grinned. "That's my girl."

Andy rolled his eyes as the Island was blanketed in darkness. "How long do you think they'll need?"

"Alec said five minutes. Princess might take a little long considering she's a little off."

"I heard that."

Mole's eyes flew to Andy's and he watched his friend snicker. "I have no doubt you'll get the job done though, Princess."

_"Right,"_ Max drawled.

A few minutes later Ana's breathless voice broke the sea sounds of the raft bobbing on the water.

"We're in. Game time."

Andy rubbed his hands together and Mole shouldered a missile launcher. "Time to give 'em hell."

Mole flicked off the safety and spied his target. "Case of beer says I hit that fuel tank."

Searching the coast for the said tank, Andy lips widened to a grin. "No way, drift, air speed and range are against you. I'll hold you to that bet."

"Better start working up that strategy to score my beer, buddy." Mole anchored his feet and angled the launcher, his lips thinned in concentration as he felt the breeze on the back of his neck.

Andy watched the missile's progress as it sailed through the sky a thin line of smoke trailing in it's wake. A beat later it hit it's target and the fuel tank explode sending flames and debris soaring into the night sky.

Less than a minute later, flood lights and angry voices filled the air.

"Lucky shot scaly pants, like to see you try that again," Andy said with a scowl.

"Oh you're on," Mole answered with a glare.

**Building A**

Ana watched soldiers rushing in their direction with tasers and batons at the ready. "Hurry it up, Alec!"

Realizing they were going to run out of time. Ana ran at the soldiers dropping to the floor just as the one of them despressed his trigger. The wires sailed harmlessly over her head. She pushed off the floor with her arms and propelled her body weight into the guard closest. The force of her kick sent him reeling backward into the man behind him. It was like a domino effect, they kept falling into each other till not one of them was left standing. All of them curled on the floor groaning, a few beats passed before two of them began to get to their feet.

"Got it," Alec hollered from the Control Room.

The cell doors swung open and transgenics began spilling out. The guards that dared to move were promptly knocked unconscious, and all of them were disarmed as streams of feet trampled by.

"Nice work," Alec said with a nod to the guards as he took her arm. Outside the walls his transgenic hearing picked up the sound of gunfire and explosions. Mole had started his two-man assault.

"You could have been faster," Ana retorted with a snort.

"You know, one of these days I'll find a woman that actually appreciates me," Alec said with a sigh as they ran down the tier to the nearest stairwell.

"I appreciate you. Just not the way Max does," Ana retorted with a wink. She watched Alec's mouth drop open and laughed. "Now move your ass, hotshot. We've got one more cell block to go."

Catching up with her as they started down another corridor, Alec turned to her. "Where'd you learn to move like that?"

Ana shrugged. "Reggie, one of the X5s, offered to spar with me but after I broke my fingers and a tibia we decided it wasn't a good idea. Midnight's been teaching me her moves instead. You could say we're more the same level physique."

Right, he'd forgotten how fragile Brain had been. "What other Cell Block? Logan said only A and B were in use. We don't exactly have time to search this place."

"I noticed on the duty roster that the sub-level wing's active. It was designed for death row inmates."

"Guess they're using it for special guests," Alec said with humor he didn't feel.

As they approached the wing. Alec took the lead and indicated for Ana to hang back when he picked up the sound of footsteps approaching. Alec took out the guard as he rounded the corner with an elbow to the head. "Should keep him down for a bit. How many do you think they got in here?"

Ana shrugged. "Could be a dozen, could be one." Ana quickly went to the panel and started rewiring the fuses to open the doors. It helped that they'd replaced all the locks with electronic access. It would have taken them four times as long to break all their people out if they'd had to pick all the keyholes.

The doors swung open but nobody immerged from the cells. Alec closed off all his other senses and listened for any sounds of life. He picked up very faint breathing. Opening his other senses again a wave nausea came over him as his sensitive nose picked up a familiar scent. His gaze flicked to Ana in alarm. She didn't seem to have his heightened sense of smell but she figured something was wrong by his expression and the fact that nobody was coming out of the open doors.

They wouldn't post a guard where there were no prisoners, she surmised. It was just a waste of man power and space. The cells they'd passed on the way had been almost overcrowded, they had to be using every cell available. Why had they isolated this area?

Alec rushed to the cell where the smell and sound had originated from and peered inside. It was completely dark but that didn't hinder his transgenic sight in the slightest. The stench of blood, sweat and something else made his stomach churn. All the color drained from his face as he recognized two figures huddled in opposite corners of the concrete room. Their clothing hung in tatters and blood stained the walls, the floor. The decaying smell and stain of it seemed to be everywhere. It was then that his brain registered the other smell he'd picked up on. Pheromones and the heady smell of sex. The sick bastards had thrown the two of them together during heat. The bitter irony of the situation wasn't lost on him.

He approached the female cautiously. "God, Mika..." he choked back the bile rising in his throat as his friend refused to acknowledge him and flinched away as he tried to reach for her. "Ana, get in here." He quickly stepped back as Ana helped Mika to her feet.

They'd been in different units back in Manticore but they'd all gotten to know each other in Terminal City. Mika and Ronan both had partners, and it looked like they'd tried to fight off the primitive urges without success. Alec didn't doubt that there was severe damage done on both sides and didn't want to give thought to the consequences. He doubted that Mika and Ronan would ever look at each other again. It chilled him how easily things could have turned ugly for himself and Max. He did his best to shake off the image of Mika broken and cowering. It could have easily been Max.

"We're gonna get you out of here," Ana said softly.

Alec turned to his old unit leader, Ronan. He had to suppress a shudder. His jet black hair hung in blood matted dreads around his jaw, and his bangs hid his eyes from view. "Buddy, can you hear me?" Alec asked crouching down to his level. "We're busting out of here."

Ronan refused to look up. There was a long stretch of silence before he answered. "I thought you were dead," he murmered hoarsely. As Alec squeezed his forearm, Ronan reluctantly met his former 2IC's concerned face. "Am I dreaming?" he asked his eyes wet with unshed tears.

Alec cracked a small grin. "I'm rescuing your butt for a change. Come on, boat's waiting."

**On the opposite side of the building**

Max sprinted along the open courtyard, hidden by the cover of darkness. She had one more cell block to crack open. She had taken the two smaller adjacent wings. It had taken her two minutes to weave her way to the right side of the compound. So far she'd stayed out of sight and hadn't run into any trouble. The first cell block guard crew had just finished their sweep and it hadn't taken her long to take out the guards one at a time before they got back to the Control Room.

She was happy to stay in stealth mode till they got everyone of their people out, as unlikely as that scenario was. It didn't matter that they'd taken out Island communications, the last thing she wanted was for anyone to start getting trigger happy when they realized their base had been compromised.

Hearing voices she planted herself against the wall under a flight of stairs as two guards passed by. After they'd moved a short distance away, she slipped out of her hiding spot and continued on to the building she'd been assigned. Climbing in through an air-conditioning vent, she dropped to the floor on the other side. She immediately found herself under the heat of two laser sight points. "Hey boys," she tilted her head and gave them a smirk before blurring behind one.

Disarming the guard, she threw him into his partner before swiftly knocking them both out and locking them together using their handcuffs. Spotting some duct tape, she tore off a few strips, wrapping their ankles together and pushing them to the floor.

"Bitch," one of them hissed.

"Now that's just not nice," Max said with a glare. "Didn't your mother ever teach you, if you got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all?" She ripped off two more pieces of tape and sealed both their mouths shut. Dusting her hands, she moved to the other end of the office and turned the access key and typed in the commands to open the cells. "And my work here is done." She lent down and punched the offending guard in the face. "Nighty night."

Jogging through the throng of escaping transgenics, a strong hand whipped out and gripped her arm.

"Max," a labored voice queried.

Max whirled to face the woman and squinted as she tried to place her face. She seemed familiar.

"Gem," the woman prompted, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Sorry," Max offered, "Memory's screwy." Her eyes traveled over the woman in a glance, taking inventory - face etched with tension from pain, pale complexion, bloodshot eyes, weight bearing mostly on her left leg. _Wounded right ankle, _she concluded mentally. "You need help."

Gem immediately brushed off her concern. "I'll manage. You need to help Joshua. White's got him. In D block."

Max was off like a shot at the mention of White. "Head for the old pier," she called over her shoulder. Max shook off the tightening sensation in her chest. Kind eyes and a gentle touch, accompanied a warm embrace.

"Virus bitch goin' down. Everything be okay, little fella."

_Joshua._ She remembered his face and the encouraging hopeful smile he gave her as he had said those words. It was time to give White the beating he had coming. For Alec, for hunting her family and for almost knocking her teeth out.

Where the hell had that thought come from, she wondered. This 'Jam Pony' kept popping up. Sounded like seedy disco joint. She hadn't worked their had she? She shuddered, being a stripper or waiteress had to be worst jobs she imagined herself doing. Scary thought was, she had a feeling she'd done the former or something close to it. Just this sixth sense of feeling ogling eyes and having to strip down to a level she was entirely too uncomfortable with. Sort of like the feelings she had when her body forced her to jump any human being with three legs. Degrading and thoroughly sickening. She shivered again and surged ahead faster, pushing her legs to move till her muscles burned. Bursting out a fire door, she crossed the courtyard and headed for the building she remembered as D Block.


	13. Old enemies

**Corridor, D Block**

Max heard voices. One that chilled her to the core. Could she really do this alone? Maybe she should call for back up. Alec had been afraid of letting her do this mission. Afraid of letting her face White. He'd protected her once and it had almost cost him his life. Without the heat to cloud her senses, she remembered all the scars she'd felt under her fingertips. The haunted look in his eyes that he reveled when he let his guard down, when he thought she wasn't looking. White had been torturing him for months and it took deep cuts to leave scars like that - cuts, left untreated. She shook off her fear and balled her fists. Strengthening her resolve, she made for the door ahead. She'd rescue Joshua on her own. She'd make sure that Alec never had to come face-to-face with Ames White again.

**At the old pier**

Gem made it to the pier with the support of Jordan, one of the X6s she'd befriended through Dalton. Her ankle was screaming in protest at the abuse but she ignored it. The effort setting her jaw rigid, a cold sweat bathing her skin. She couldn't help but smile in spite of her pain when she caught a familiar face.

"Alec?"

Alec smiled at Gem and rushed to help her along. He was so relieved to see her safe, not only because he'd grown a soft spot for the short-haired, blue-eyed mother, but because he couldn't even entertain the idea of Missy growing up without her.

"In the flesh," he quipped with a smile. "You're faring worse than me for a change."

She jabbed him lightly in the ribs before tears glistened in her eyes. "Missy, is she...did Mole..." she couldn't bring herself to finish as her throat closed over.

"Missy's safe. She's with Logan."

"Thank God." Gem felt relief wash over her and the moment she allowed herself to relax, her legs gave out.

Jordan caught her weight and kept her upright. She watched Gem grimace with pain. "Bastards never took the bullet out," the X6 girl said bitterly.

Alec moved to carry Gem, but she halted him by grabbing his arm tightly. "Wait, Max went for Joshua."

The hairs on the back of his neck bristled. He didn't need for her to explain. He already knew that Max was in trouble. " Jordan take her to the boat. Find Dix, he'll direct her to where they've got the medics set up." Without waiting to see if they'd moved in the direction he'd indicated, he broke way in a dead run. He had to get to Max.

**Storage room**

White circled the large figure slumped on the floor. So he wasn't fighting fair but then the transgenic scum wasn't even human so rules of humanity didn't apply. He crouched down and jabbed the transhuman with his baton. "Giving up already?"

The creature didn't even stir. White stood and retracted the baton. Tossing the taser and the baton to a nearby agent, he dusted his hands.

"Sir?" the agent glanced warily at the transhuman. They were notoriously resilient and they'd seen them play possum often enough to know never to let his guard down.

"Leave him with me for a few minutes." White unholstered his gun and clicked off the safety.

"Yes, sir." The agent nodded and turned for the door. His previous concern was unwarranted. His boss was as calculated as he was cold. He'd heard the story of how Special Agent White had taken down one of the trasngenics with a single shot to the head when he'd taken one of their operatives hostage. He left the room with a shrug. _One less freak to worry about_, he mused. He never saw the fist coming. He heard an ear piercing squeal and then after a burst of light, nothing but darkness.

White whirled at the sound a screech of surprise. Joshua used the distraction to swipe the man's legs from under him. His whole body was tense with residual muscle spasms but he pushed through the pain. He wanted nothing more than to twist the hated man's head clean off but an angel in the doorway stopped him.

"452," White spat. He flipped to his feet and put distance between himself and the two transgenics now in the room.

Joshua was clambering to his knees, his eyes never leaving Max. "Max," he said, his voice betraying the hope and disbelief at her appearance.

White trained the gun on Joshua. "You might be fast, but he's not. And you know I have a hair-trigger," he smirked callously.

Max barely kept her nausea down as she took in her friend. He was bloodied and his clothes were darkened in areas. She could smell his usually comforting scent mingled with the smell of blood. His right eye was almost fully closed it was so swollen and he was nursing his left hand. It looked badly broken. She fought the urge to shudder. She might not remember everything about the man standing between herself and Joshua, but she knew he was a killer. He killed Luke and countless other transgenics by invading Terminal City, their home and now he was about to kill Joshua.

"Why don't you drop the gun, Ames," Max said calmly. "I'm just one lowly transgenic, a girl at that. Afraid to fight like a man? Or are you too scared to get your hands dirty?" She watched as his face twisted at her words. He popped the clip. It clattered to the floor noisily.

White started to lower his gun and waved her over. "Bring it, 452. You took my son, ending your life isn't enough. I'll make sure I take everyone single person you care about. Starting with him." With inhuman speed he re-aimed the gun at Joshua and fired.

The shot rang out, echoing through the large room and the scream she didn't know she let loose, sounded foreign to her ears. For one heartbreaking moment, everything slowed before her eyes. Joshua slumped forward clutching his chest, blood trickling through his fingers. In the next instant, she snapped back to reality and raced forward to grab him, gently lowering him to floor. "Just hang on Josh." A tear slipped down her cheek. Max whipped to face the bastard smirking a few feet away.

White tossed the gun aside. "Next, 494. I should have wiped that smirk off his face the second I had him. Should have known the stupid freak loved you too much to ever give you up."

Squeezing Joshua's good hand, she watched his eyes close. An anger she hadn't felt in a long time boiled inside her. The raged simmered so hot that her nerve endings tingled and her hands wavered. She had to clear her head. Attacking him blindly was only going to give him the upper hand. Fear began to gnaw at her gut. She'd fought White before, she remembered it. So why was she so afraid all of a sudden?

Ames didn't give her a chance to blink. He flew at her and punched her square in the face before she could dodge the attack. Max recoiled and reacted on impulse, jumping high, only narrowly avoiding his kick to her abdomen. As she landed on her feet, White came at her again. This time she let her instinct take over. Thinking was slowing her down, she was still getting used to her abilities. She didn't know her limitations, but now wasn't the time to second-guess her actions. He'd kill her if she gave him the chance.

When he went for a right hook to her jaw, Max grab his arm and twisted around, jamming her foot down on the side of his knee. The joint gave way and as he sagged, she drove her elbow into his chest.

White stumbled back but remained standing, put his weight on his good knee. "Gotta do than that," he rasped. Reaching down, he stretched the knee back in with a sickening, bone-grinding sound.

She knew what it felt like to move bones around and she flinched inwardly at the memory. White hadn't even blinked. She felt sticky liquid oozing over her lips and realized her nose was bleeding, probably broken. At least the stars had cleared from her eyes. He packed a wicked punch. Didn't hit like any ordinary she'd ever come up against._Wait, why did the word familiar come to mind. Bred to fight..._ She refused to let her thoughts progress any further. Damn amnesiac brain, kept interfering with the here and now. If she wasn't careful, all this sidetracking was going to wind up getting her killed.

Footsteps in the corridor caught her hearing and she groaned inwardly. _Company. Just fantastic_.

As Max's attention wavered for a moment, a wicked gleam entered White's eyes. He reached into his back and pulled a ornate knife from its sheath. It was specially designed to glide through skin going in but cause maximum damage on the way out.

He lunged at her but Max noticed his movement in her peripheral vision and stopped his hands inches from her face. The blade grazed her cheek and she used all her strength to twisting his arms to get him to release the knife. White's eyes narrowed, as his grip on the knife slipped. As it slid from his grasp, he didn't skip a beat. He head butted her, and grinned in satisfaction at the crack he heard.

Light exploded in her face and pain from her nose spread like wildfire through her nerves. She lost her hold on him and he didn't waste time making his next move. Shaking her head to clear her vision, she felt his fingers in her hair. His icy fingers curled around the back of her neck and squeezed, making her feel dizzy. She clawed at his arms and face trying to find something grasp and damage but he was holding her at arms length.

The next thing she knew she was flying. She hit the metal racking like a human demolition ball. It heaved and buckled against the impact. Crates, barrels and box came crashing down on top of her. Max didn't want to move but she knew if she didn't White would be there with his next attack and wouldn't hesitate to kick her while she was down. The back of her head burned where he'd ripped a fist full of her hair from its roots. Her body screamed from where it had been clobbered by sharp angles and heavy objects. What she wouldn't give to feel numb. _That takes conditioning or manipulation of consciousness._ Max winced and shoved a box from her chest. All these random thoughts that kept popping up were starting to piss her off.

White collected his gun as he watched the transgenic struggle from under the pile of debris. He snapped in his spare clip and cocked the gun. "As much fun as this was, 452, I'm not about to repeat past mistakes. I was interrupted once, I'm not going to let it happen again."

Alec burst into the room, and watched in horror as White pulled the trigger. If she hadn't been in the process of getting to her feet, she would have easily dodged it but apparently she'd been trying to prepare herself for a physical attack. He only had one alternative. He tackled her.

"Alec!" Max screamed.

Alec jumped up the moment they hit the ground and dragged Max for the cover behind a stack of metal drums. He knew White wouldn't stop until they were both dead. Pulling out his gun, he fired over the top of the barrel in White's direction. He turned to Max, she was bloody and pale but she was breathing. "Did he hit you?"

Max shook her head, too stunned to speak. This was what she'd been hoping to avoid. Alec was here and so was White. He stood between them and the door. There was no escape.

"I know you don't do guns but you have to cover me." Alec shoved the gun into her hands and he tried not to notice the look of wide-eyed revulsion she gave the object. They couldn't just sit and wait for White to run out of ammunition, if that happened. Time wasn't on their side. The mini-pulse only took out the main tower. Once they got the back up generators going, island communications would come back online. White could call for back and then they'd be screwed. Also Dix and the others had strict orders not to delay. Ten minutes after they'd radio-ed that the cell blocks were clear, they were to hightail it to port.

Alec was about to make a dash, when more bullets riddled the area to his right. "I've got to draw his fire, spend his clip. Then you take him out. You're in no shape to blur, Max," he reasoned.

Before she could argue, Alec made his move. She heard White cursing and more gun fire. Then it stopped. This was it. She held the gun in her hand and peered from behind her cover. Alec had wrestled the gun from White and they were now a blur of limbs striking and blocking each other's attacks.

Sweat blurred her vision and she wiped it away in frustration. She steadied her hand and blinked. Her vision still wouldn't focus properly. She forced herself to concentrate, she was about to pull the trigger when Alec flipped over White and ran him into the wall, pinning him. Max released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her arm fell to her side and she ran to Alec.

Alec jabbed his fingers into the base of White's neck and twisted. The man twitched and then sagged into the wall. After a heartbeat, his eyes slid closed.

"What did you do?" Max asked in surprise.

"Slowed the blood flow to his brain. Don't worry, I didn't kill him. We'd be no better than they are, yadda yadda. Even though the scumbag deserves it." Alec release his hold on White and the man slid to the floor. "He'll come to with one-hell-of-a-headache though," he quipped with a broad grin. Taking her hand, he relinquished the gun from her grasp. "Let's get the big guy. Our ride's not going to wait forever."

Alec checked Joshua over. His friend was still breathing. The pulse was weak but steady and he was already beginning to come around. Blood trickled from the bullet wound. From the flow it looked like it missed any major arteries and once he got his friend cleaned up a bit, he could assess the damage a little better. Joshua must have turned as the shot was fired. Alec found an exit point below Joshua's shoulder blade. At least they wouldn't have to go digging around to stop the bleeding. A bit of pressure, a couple stitches and some rest, and he'd be good as new in a week or two.

"Joshua?" Max queried softly. She'd taken White's shirt and tore it into strips.

"Little fella?" came the whispered reply.

Max smiled and after she finished tying off the makeshift bandage, she put her arm under his and helped Alec lift Joshua to his feet. "It's me, Big fella. Let's get out of here."

**Old pier**

"Come on, Alec," Ana plead with a harsh whisper.

They'd already been discovered twice and since Mole had no love for ordinaries much less White's henchmen, she had her hands full trying to running interference. She wasn't built for combat. They were almost out of ammunition, she'd used their last flash grenade subduing the men in the latest attack.

Dix and the crew on the Oberon, the Government Taskforce's transport vessel, had left five minutes ago. If they waited much longer, the waters would be swarming with coast guard and it'd only be a matter of time till White would be able work around Logan's jamming signal and call for back up.

Alec was time sensitive. He'd been conditioned that way. Deadlines weren't to be tested. Failure to meet a scheduled time only meant one thing. He'd run into trouble and her sixth sense told her that trouble had only one name - White.

Mole shot Ana a weary glance. He knew she was a worrier, it was in her nature but the grim set of her jaw and the furrow lines on her brow looked out of place on her usually serene countenance. Then he spotted the subject of their delay. "Should'a known you were the one causing all the trouble, Princess."

Max scowled at the lizard man. "How 'bout a little less of the whining and more help, huh?"

Ana jogged toward them and took Max's place supporting Joshua, who looked dead on his feet. "We have about a minute before this place is swarmed with agents."

Mole shouldered his shotgun and blew a puff of smoke in Max's face as she past him. " Midnight's got the meter running. Time to split, kids."

Max rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to say something scalding in response to his 'kids' comment, she bit her tongue when she caught the flicker of concern in his eyes. Turning her head, she quickly made her way to the ferry. She knew she looked a fright but she was grateful that nobody had said anything about it. She might have been raised a soldier but lately she'd been feeling as girl as you could get. Her hair was in knots and her face and clothes were bloodied and dirty. _I could kill for a bath right now._ Casting a glance in Alec's direction, she watched as he and Ana maneuvered Joshua up the gang plank and across the deck. They were lowering him against a wall when she approached.

"Alec, you should check Ronan over. He won't let me touch him." Ana shrugged off her knapsack and pulled out her medkit. "I'll patch up the big guy, here." She pressed a few packets of alcohol swabs and bandages into his hand. "There's another kit in Midnight's bag if you need to stitch him. He didn't say but there's a 95 percent probability he's developing a infection, slight fever..."

Alec took her offerings and met her eyes. He'd been thinking of Max for the past few minutes and had only just tuned into the fact that Ana was speaking to him when she'd touched his hand. "Ronan's here?"

"Thought it'd be a good idea to keep him away from Mika's mate," Ana answered with a raised brow. Alec really was spaced if he thought leaving his friend with the other transgenics was a wise move. He had Mika's scent all over him and even though she'd told Doc to get the female X5 into a shower ASAP, she was sure Blake would figure out something was wrong the minute he saw Mika. X5 males had more testosterone surging about than the average male and being a mate, well that took territorial antics to a whole new level. Blake would have gone hunting for blood. Keeping them apart was the best scenario for everyone.

"But what about..."

"Dawn didn't make it," she interjected solemnly. At Alec's pained look, she squeezed his arm lightly. Ronan had lost all that he thought was important in the world. Watching Dawn die would have gutted him, and then being thrown together with Mika in no shape to battle primitive urges, he'd lost a friend too. Talking or at least spending time with his SIC would help ease his self-loathing. Alec was the only one with a chance to get through his defenses right now. "Go see, Ronan. I got Josh."

Alec sensed Max hovering behind them and stood up. He took her hand and led her away from Ana toward the hatch. "Let me take a look at you first. Then I'll see Ronan."

Max relished the warmth of his hand around hers and she wished that they could just lock themselves away. Her body ached to be near him. Alec taking care of her sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world but she also know he was deeply concerned for his friend. "I've just got a couple bumps and bruises. A shower, a change of clothes and I'll be fine."

"Max," his voice took on a testing tone. "You can't hide from me anymore. I know you. Don't shrug this off like it's nothing. White could have killed you back there."

Max tightened her hand, squeezing his. "But he didn't. I know it was stupid to go after Joshua alone but I didn't want him to get you again." She hung her head, her throat closing over. "I couldn't...I don't know how I'd deal with that if..." She felt his finger under her chin and a tear escaped the corner of her eye as he raised her chin gently. She found herself unable to break away from his hazel stare. She could see so much in their depths; concern, pain, honesty and most of all love. He ached as much as she did. She squeezed his fingers again and his eyes shuttered for a brief moment taking on a smoldering quality.

"You're everything to me, Max. I'll always come back to you," Alec whispered softly, his voice deepening and causing butterflies to burst in her stomach.

Max bit her lip to keep it from trembling. She couldn't understand this weakness that was taking over her body. Her knees felt weak, as though they could no longer support her weight. The touch of his hand was spreading warmth from her palms and spread in waves over her skin. Her chest ached, her pulse thundering like a runaway train and she knew it had nothing to do with her bruised ribs.

Alec sighed. Even now she still couldn't see it. He would never willing leave her and it ate him up inside that she still didn't realize that. As much as he knew Max wouldn't have forgiven him for it, he would have killed White without hesitation if they'd been alone. The treat he posed and all the things he'd done... Alec shook his head. He just wasn't that gracious a man. An act of grace could come back and take you out. Manticore taught them to eliminate threats - Threats to the mission, threats to the Project, threats to your survival - no exceptions. As much as he'd like to leave Manticore in his past, the darkness was always just one step behind him. And when you were fighting for your life, a past like theirs came in handy.

Pulling her into a gentle hug, he dropped a kiss in her hair. "I'll come see you, soon as I've patched up Ronan."

Max nodded mutely, no longer being able to hold back the dam of emotion brimming beneath the surface. She broke away from him and jogged down the stairs before a fresh wave of tears spilled down her cheeks. She had to deal with her issues and she couldn't while Alec was around. Her brain refused to operate in his presence, her thoughts a jumbled mess. She hated the sap she was becoming. She was falling for him hard, that much she was willing to admit. If his eyes could reduce her to a blubbering mess then she had it bad. A thought of inwardly laughing at her friend, Kendra, gushing about her hot Mr. Multiples, a rosy blush to her cheeks and dreamy look in her eyes, entered her mind's eye. She remembered concluding that it had to be love because there was no way in hell she'd ever thought Walter was attractive. She remembered thinking that she'd never find anyone she'd let herself fall for. Firstly because, no offence to her friends, but ordinaries where just so ordinary. There was no energy, spark of a challenge or mystery to them. At least that's what she'd thought then. Secondly, she knew she was a danger to everyone around her. And to keep them safe she could never reveal who she was and what kind of relationship could you hope to build if you could never be completely honest with them? Afterward she'd thought if she tried to be normal, then maybe would she find that happiness her friends seemed to have. She'd wanted 'normal' with Logan. Obviously that had worked out _brilliantly_.

Opening the door to one of the cabins below deck, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Her gut tightened as she thought about the X5 with hazel eyes. He was probably only a few doors down. Clenching her fist, she steeled herself. _Shower first, Alec later._ One way or another she'd work things out.

* * *

**Author's Note: (29/01/08**) Apologies for the long hiatus. Lost the heart of the story somewhere along the way. Sleep deprivation doesn't help. I would have waited till I had that elusive epiphany but after receiving a proverbial kick in the behind and I thought I shouldn't keep any of you waiting any longer. Thanks Desiraes. Hopefully I can live up to expectations by the time this story ends. 


	14. Reliving pain

**Alcatraz**** base **

When White came to he rammed his fist into the nearest solid object he could find. It just so happened to be the agent he'd been with earlier. The man grunted in pain and doubled over. The man's face had loomed into view just as he returned to consciousness. His anger was only slightly miss directed. The agent had after all, let Max slip by him.

"Sorry sir," he managed to choke out. "I didn't see her."

"How in the hell you managed to miss her is beyond me," White spat, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You're lucky I can't kill you," his added icily, his voice barely a whisper. He didn't miss the look of horror in the other man's eyes. White sat up and dusted himself. It was then that it dawned on him that he was divest of any clothing on his upper body. He swore a string of vile curses, adding to the agent's distress. His coat and tie lay in a crumpled pile near his feet. His shirt was nowhere to be seen. He could hazard a guess as to what had become of his designer threads. It was just another mark against 452 and her growing list of sins.

"Have you radio-ed the coast guard?" White snapped, reaching for his coat. It would have to do till he could get his spare change of clothes. You could never predict when you might have to rid yourself of transgenic filth that had fouled up your person.

The agent struggled to his feet and shook his head. Hastily offering White his radio.

"This is White. Give me a count," he said with a bark. His request was answered with static. He threw the radio back at the agent. Pulling out this cell phone, he's face twisted in disgust when he noticed that he had no reception. "Nothing beats good ol' pre-Pulse technology." Striding to the wall, he lifted the receiver and dialed.

"Yes?" came the query.

"White here."

"Is your line secure?"

"It's secure," White lied. The urgency of the situation overrode the Conclave's neurotic measures for secrecy. "I need to speak with her."

"She is not available," came the reply.

"Tell her the transgenics have escaped. All of them. Then we'll see if she's unavailable," he snarled, his grip tightening on the receiver till he heard a faint crack.

There was a moments silence and then, "Hold please."

"What is your plan," came the familiar, authoritative voice. Not a hint of her emotion was revealed by her tone, although White could imagine steam pouring from her ears. First her precious Phalanx had failed, and now McKinley's committee was fast losing its handle on the situation.

"We should move up the timetable. The transgenics escape will provide the perfect cover. Those that survive will blame them and then we'll be rid of them, once and for all."

"Centuries of planning will not be undone by rash actions..."

"With all due respect," White bit out chillingly, "A few days isn't going to matter."

His outburst was met with heavy silence and White was almost afraid he'd overstepped the line when she spoke again. "The Conclave will decide and you will follow orders. Fe'nos tol."

He could tell she was more than a little put out by his insubordination because she hung up before he could offer his sentiments in return. As much as it pained him to wait for their decision, he'd do as she asked. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It didn't mean that he couldn't use the resources at his disposal to take out the transgenics he could get his hands on however. Things were looking up. "It's far from over 452."

**The Conclave, ****Minoan** **Temple**

"All members indicate your position by raising your hand," the High Priestess directed.

A majority show of hands greeted her request and she allowed a sliver smile to play on her lips. Obviously transgenic hate ran deep amongst her brethren. They'd meet their end soon, and if the angry mob didn't kill them, they'd happily finish the job.

"Then it is decided. The Chamber of our Goddess Valisis shall be opened and her judgment will rain down on all mankind."

**A few hours later**

Members of the Conclave hooded and cloaked, followed the Priestess down a long concrete corridor. The eerily dark and cold passage was illuminated only by the lanterns the brethren carried. They reached the bottom and stopped in front of a heavy black velvet curtain. Two Familiars pulled on the gold chords at opposite ends of the wall. The veil separated down the middle to reveal a grand alter. It was molded gold, encrusted with precious gemstones. Sitting in its center was a chest, encased in plexi-glass with two rods on either side. The glass was lifted away. The Priestess moved forward and ran her fingertips lightly over the deep engravings in the aged timber. Generations of their people had protected and cared for this Ark. It housed their most sacred key.

Lifting the lid, the Priestess reached inside and checked each of the crystals within the chest. Each crystal was in its correct position. Only one space remained empty. She pulled at the chain around her neck and pulled it over her head. Nestled in her palm was the last piece. A alexandrite stone, no bigger than her thumb. Holding it up to the fire-light, it sparkled a murky red. She placed it in the empty slot and as the panel began to glow, the stone started to slowly change color from red to brilliant green. "It has begun."

**The Pentagon **

An analyst ran to his department head, clutching his PDA. "Boss, you have to hear this."

The Director of Homeland Security dropped her pen and closed the brief she was reading. With a sigh, she took the PDA and replayed the transmission. She knew her people would never crash into her office unannounced if it wasn't important or an emergency. After a brief second, she frowned. "Am I supposed to be hearing something?"

"It's subsonic. It originated from right here in D.C., but it's where it went that had my alert parameters coding. "We're trying to get a fix on the exact co-ordinates, but it was transmitting to the middle of the Mediterranean. There's nothing there. No Islands, rig platforms or substations out there. We even ran a list of shipping manifests. Nothing."

"Pinpoint the source, and get real satellite time of the area. And see if you can get an audible frequency, I what to know what kind of message they're sending. It could be some weirdos playing Dr Doom or it could be the Pulse all over again. I need more information, yesterday."

**Meanwhile **

Deep in the oceans off the coast of Cyprus, a low rumbling shook the volcanic plates. A bright glow shimmered under the water, a burst of energy a beam cut through the ocean and into the night sky, turning night into day. The water bubbled and churned around the beam before it cut out just as suddenly as it had appeared - once again blanketing the sky with darkness.

**On the ferry, several hours before **

Ronan had been pushed into a shower, none to gently by his friend. He'd stumbled out and dried off to find a clean pair of shorts hanging on the hook behind the door. His dirty clothes had disappeared, so he had no choice but to wear what was on offer or go buff. Ronan sat stiffly on the edge of the narrow bunk, clad in nothing but a pair of cotton boxers, baring all the welts and bruises to view. He kept his head bowed after he caught the look of concern etched on his friend's usually schooled features. He'd looked in the small mirror in the washroom and noticed that he looked like death warmed up. The fluorescent light lent a sickly pallor to his usually healthy golden tanned skin, and some of the bruises were beginning to blacken giving him a zombie-like appearance. His long hair hung in wet clumps and he did nothing to push back the locks obscuring his vision.

Alec inspected this damage quickly and prioritized based on severity. Dousing a swab with iodine, he dabbed the cut above Ronan's eyebrow. Ignoring the hiss of pain that escaped his friend's lips, Alec continued his ministrations. "How did it go down, TC," he added catching the implication and wanting to clarify before his friend was reminded anymore about his indiscretion.

Ronan tightened his hold on his knees, his knuckles whitening. "We had no warning of the attack, but all day before had a lot of us were feeling a little on edge. The Ordinaries had been quiet, the protesting had died down earlier in the week. When the troops pulled out, I don't know what you want to call it. The calm before the storm or just this gut instinct..."

As his friend began to speak, Alec felt the scenes unfolding in his mind's eye. He kept stitching and cleaning wounds, while Ronan talked, both happy that he'd provided a distraction and that his friend was letting a weight off his chest.

**The attack on ****Terminal** **City, previously**

Dawn's hand stilled on his chest, and he felt her pulse quicken. She was so close to him, skin on skin that he felt every rise and fall of her chest, every heartbeat. "You hear something?" he whispered. Their animal instincts were finely tuned for danger but Dawn seemed to have a sixth sense for trouble. Her unit had dubbed her Sonic because she'd seemed to be able to pick sounds on a barometric level.

"We're under attack. They're moving in an arch formation."

Ronan launched out of bed and pulled on jeans in a blur. Dawn was already at the door, dressed in a blink and was pulling on boots, when he'd finally found his shirt. She'd just about tore it off him in their haste to get to bed earlier. Even with night-vision, it was hard to locate wayward necessities if you had no idea of the first place to look.

He tucked the gun he always had on the night stand into the back of his pants, and followed her out the door. "We could use more weapons. HQ?"

"We gotta help the guys take out the database before White gets his hands on it. No way I'm giving him everything on a silver platter," she said with a low growl. The database held all names, designations, abilities and specialties of all the transgenics in Terminal City, and the names and contact details of all their allies, including friendly Ordinaries. White would have a field day.

Ronan threaded his fingers into her thick auburn hair. Sometimes it took on such fluid movement, that in the sunlight it looked like molten rock. Dawn was vivacious, smart and sassy. Just her smile could take his breath away. He pulled her close for a savage kiss, that spoke of how mad she could drive him and how fiercely he would protect her. "Let's give 'em hell, babe."

Her hazel-gray eyes sparkled dangerously. "I've been itching for a good fight. Haven't kicked ass in too long."

He chuckled and followed her as she blurred down the stairwell in their building. For their kind, too long was longer than a couple of days. In Manticore they had daily sparring sessions in training, but they were rarely heated. They didn't beat down their own unless they'd been egging for it. They put enough into the fight to impress the trainers but not enough to do serious damage to their friends. Since they'd been caged up in Terminal City, the most they'd had were sparring matches, and there was an unspoken rule, no broken bones. They needed to be fighting fit, ready for the war that was camped outside their doorstep. Transgenics were charged by nature, and all that restrained energy had to have an outlet sometime. For those that had mates, well they let their frustrations out in other ways. As for the rest, well there had been a lot of extra sparring going down at the old rail yards, away from COs and HQ, that pushed the limits a little. He'd turned a blind eye to a few broken noses and patchwork bruises he'd seen around Mess. You could only push on a spring so much before it sprang back in your face. They all needed to let off steam, each to his own.

By the time they'd reached the building across the Command Center, they'd avoided getting caught twice and gun fire had been exchanged. "If they've reached the Atrium, we'll have to fall back," Ronan whispered as he lay cover fire for Dawn and two others to reach his position.

Dawn nodded her agreement. She switched lead position with him and scouted ahead, before closing her eyes and laying her hand on the ground.

_'Five, closing fast." _She used hand signals to communicate her message to the group.

Ronan took point again and waved their two companions ahead after two soldiers passed the alley to their left. _'Access Command from above, stay out of sight.' _He signaled to Rusty, an X4 tomcat transhuman and Kena, a short X6 female.

Dawn opened her eyes and held up her hand. _Wait. _Kena drew back against the wall, just as three more soldiers passed the alley.

Ronan gave her a concerned look. It was getting too risky to get to Command. Mole was on duty tonight. Surely he could handle Code Meltdown on his own. Unless he didn't know they'd been breeched. Something in his gut told him that despite the danger warnings, Command needed help.

If luck was on their side, it'd take White's men awhile to find their HQ. It was at the heart of transhuman central in one of the most run down and intoxicated parts of Terminal City. Their mismatched friends had chosen it because of its condition. It provided something similar to home away from home and also something to work on. Keep them all busy. Despite their treatment, for a lot of them Manticore's basement was all they'd known. You clung to what was familiar, what felt safe.

They reached the end of the alley and crossed to the Atrium. They quickly scaled the plumbing to the roof. Peering through a skylight, the found that Command was down to a skeleton crew. _Where the heck was Mole? _Ronan wondered silently. Digging out his hunting knife, he opened the window latch and lifted the glass. He held it open while each member of his little team dropped to the floor.

Dawn crept up on Luke who was busily typing away furiously at one of the stations, while Dix stood working at another. "Aren't you two brilliant watch hounds?" she quipped with a smile.

Luke squeaked and launched out of his chair, before Dawn put a steadying hand on his shoulder with a quiet laugh. "Easy there, just the cavalry."

"Wrap it up quick boys, won't take 'em long to find this place. Standing orders says we hit the safe houses in the event TC is breeched. I think this qualifies," Rusty said, his long whiskers twitching with impatience.

"We can't reach Mole on the radio," Dix said with worry. "He went out to check on a group of X7s that were out after curfew. We haven't heard any word from him since we caught the soldiers on the monitors."

"Mole can handle himself. He knows the drill better than anyone. He drew up the escape routes, remember," Ronan said his brow furrowing. He wanted to reassure the pale transhuman but in truth the fact that Mole hadn't radioed back his status or follow orders to HQ had him a little concerned. Mole had field and combat experience but that was a lot more than he could say for Luke and Dix. They were bred strong and would put up a fight when the situation demanded but they weren't trained and were about as wet round the ears X8s when it came to tactics and crisis resolution.

"What happened to the rest of the night crew?" Kena asked with a frown. "I know Wade was on tonight." Wade was her unit leader, a heavily built X6. He'd been designed for combat and knew how to put his weight behind his attacks. Some of the smaller X5s had been taken down by him. What he lacked in experience, he made up for with brute force and a wealth of patience. He absorbed blows like bee-stings, biding his time, waiting for a weak spot to show and then struck – most of the time with a disabling stroke.

"He led a team to the armory. Said he planned on wasting as many snake hugging freaks as could find, his words not mine," Luke said with a nervous laugh. The X6 male had looked down right frightening, his green-eyes narrowed and glittering.

Dawn walked down the short flight of steps from the control area and headed toward the offices that flanked the left side of the large room. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled, and she half turned back.

"Spidey sense tingling now sweetheart?" a baritone voice whispered.

Dawn got to see Ronan's face. His face had drained of all color and he'd leaped over the railing and to the lower floor in one fluid move. His arm was out stretched, he was yelling to her but her entire body was frozen and for some reason everything was silent.

Ronan whipped out his gun mid-air and shot the man that had appeared behind Dawn but it was too late. Even as the intruder fell to lifeless to the floor, Dawn crumpled to her knees. Her expression held a mixture of disbelief and fear. The knife was still embedded in her back. Blood was beginning to ooze form the wound, staining her soft, billowy, white cotton blouse.

Dawn never took her eyes off her mate. His brown eyes were filled with tears, and he was running to her in a blur. She didn't even feel his arms go around her, but she saw him clutched her to his chest. Tears flowed freely down his face. "Dawn, babe, I'll get help. You'll be fine," he said trying to smile, but his lips trembled betraying his fear.

She felt moisture on her face and realized that she must be crying too and his tears mingled with hers. "I…love…you," she breathed. His face filled her vision. He was her whole world. Then the focus shifted as he buried his face in her neck. Behind her lover, she saw the massacre beginning to take shape. Ronan was so distracted by her condition that he'd failed to notice that HQ had suddenly been infiltrated by soldiers and that Rusty, Dix and Kena were currently engaged in a bloody battle to escape. Luke was slumped over his keyboard, his once smooth white head a scrambled crimson mess.

A dark shape loomed behind Ronan and Dawn's eyes grew wide. She opened her mouth to scream a warning but no sound came out. She did the only thing that she realized she could. With her last ounce of strength, she drew her head back a little and then smacked it into his. The bright light that splintered cross her eyes blinded her for a second but in the space before darkness took her, she saw that he'd seen his would-be attacker. Her lids drooped, feeling weighted with lead and a cold chill washed over her. Then all sensation was gone.

**On the ferry, present day **

Alec held an arm around his friend's trembling shoulders and squeezed tight. He'd never witnessed a grown man cry in anguish. Tears of mercy, and self preservation, yes but grief…It was unnerving enough to see a woman do it. Manticore had never taught them to express emotion, or how to deal with it other than brainwash or weed it out of them with discipline in the form of isolation or torture. It still felt foreign to him but he did what he'd learnt from Max over the years of getting to know her, watching her silently. He stayed quiet and just held his friend.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye. They drugged us. I don't know what they did with her or where they took her. She could be in a lab somewhere being cut up like a piece of meat," he ground out, his voice breaking.

"I'm really sorry, man," Alec said quietly, dropping his arm. Running his hands over his knees, he scooted back to the box he'd been perched on earlier. He wanted to say that they'd get her back, but it'd be a fool's errand. They didn't even know if White had kept the bodies. And if they had, and they knew where to look, it'd be even more dangerous than this rescue because White would expect them this time. He was beyond making promises he couldn't keep. It led to false hope, something they couldn't afford and broken promises always ended in more pain.

"Do you think heaven exists for people like us?" Ronan asked.

His voice was barely a whisper and if it weren't for transgenic hearing, Alec wouldn't have caught it. "If it does, I know Dawn's there. She was a good woman, buddy. One of a kind," he finished with a genuine smile.

Ronan smiled in return as he pictured his Dawn, her eyes sparkling with mischief, her rosy pink lips framing perfect white teeth in a beautiful smile as she let out a heart warming laugh. His whole body ached at the thought. His fingers itched to touch her hair, and stroke her cheek once more. He felt a fresh wave of tears threatening to spill again and swallowed the sob that bubbled in his throat. He fingered the fading bruise on his head. She had used her last moment to save his life. The last thing she'd want was for him to start being a sloth or brood in self pity, especially when there was someone in dire need of some karma.

At his friend's smile, Alec had his first sign that Ronan might be okay. He'd keep a watchful eye though. Love and grief were new experience to most of them and masking their true feeling was something as natural as breathing. Ronan could be holding it together on the surface but underneath he could be one step away from putting a gun to his head.


	15. Daylight

****

Cabin, below deck

Max finished her shower and swabbed her cuts. The sting of alcohol and a touch of iodine had sealed most of her wounds. The area around the bridge of her nose and eyes was purple and she had two strips of tape holding the bones in place but other than that, she didn't feel all that bad. A little tired and a lot sore but compared to Joshua, nothing a few zzz's couldn't fix. Toweling her hair, she eyed the bunk. She rolled her shoulder one at a time, testing her muscles. What she wouldn't give for a nice hot bath, soak away the aches and forget the nightmare she'd just faced. Closing her eyes against the sting of tears, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath. Because of her impulsiveness, White had nearly killed them. Why was he still breathing? What was it that made her flinch in that moment that Alec had him pinned?

"_You're still running from ghosts, Max. How long are you going to keep this up? So they trained you to kill, ordered you to do it more times that you want to remember but there's a difference now. You're in a war here. One thing they never trained you to be was stupid. Alec had him. If it had been you or Ames, you know you would have done it. Why couldn't you do it for Alec? You knew he couldn't do it because told him not too. You told him with your eyes."_

Max threw the towel over the bunk railing and threw her head back in bitter frustration. She grit her teeth and stared at the moldy ceiling. White was still breathing. He'd be pissed and he'd come after them again. This time there'd be more blood.

"_How long before it's enough?" _an inner voice taunted_. "What justifies snapping his neck, huh Max? Does he need to kill Alec in front of you? You're just lucky Alec seems to have nine lives. He lost eight those long months White had him. Tempt fate and you'll get burned. Ames'll bide his time like a good little Familiar, and hit you where it'll hurt the most. He doesn't need to kill you, he knows now. He knows you care. He knows your weakness."_

Max chewed her lip to keep from screaming aloud at the voice in her head. She let out a shuddering breath and balled her fists. "I won't lose Alec again. Next time it ends."

"_Unless he ends it first_," the voice argued.

Max glanced at the clock on the wall. Alec still hadn't come back. It'd been almost two hours. Ronan was either in really bad shape or something else was going on. Pulling on a sweater and a pair of jeans, Max went to investigate.

Crossing a few bulkheads she found the cabin that Alec would have taken Ronan too. There were only a handful of habitable cabin on the wreck of a Pre-Pulse boat, and most of them had already been claimed by the members of their crew that had made the journey to Alcatraz Island. Good thing transgenics weren't raised with a percent for luxury accommodations, compared to Manticore bunks, this tug's racks were a step up. Mole hadn't been picky; they just needed transport, something sea-worthy and reliable. So far she was fairing well.

Knocking softly, she reached for the handle. Initially she felt the urge to barge in, but something held her back. Probably the thought that Ronan might be in a state of undress, considering he was in rough shape when he arrived. Or that they could be discussing things they wouldn't want others to hear. Curiosity had her wondering if Alec would discuss their situation with his friend. But she shook it off. Alec didn't seem like the sharing type. At least not about serious matters.

__

He hides behind sarcasm and a fake smile. "I'm always alright" –- but you know he's not.

"So what'd you do now?"

"Why am I always the bad guy with you, Max?"

Something twisted in her gut at a sudden memory. She clenched her teeth and rubbed her temples. They were coming more frequently now. In her minds eye she replayed the scenes, remembering what followed and the emotions that played a part. Watching him brush off Asha and drown himself in scotch. She had known something was wrong even before she'd approached him with the intention to talk that night. Yet she'd let his brusque attitude and the truth too close to home deter her from getting to the heart of his troubles.

Why had she always been so quick to judge him? There were plenty of others would rubbed her wrong, betrayed or used her and she treated them better than she did him. Darren, Ben, even Logan before they'd become friends. Whoa, hold up. Darren?

__

"Yeah, heat fling -- tried to make a relationship out of it. Those pheromone hazes screw with more than you chemistry, Max. Better judgment seems to be absent the morning after too. He cheated on you, then blamed it on your, oh mysteriousness…"

Max shook her head, her hand still poised on the handle. What did she really know about real relationships? Every male she'd ever been close enough to let her guard down with were like a brothers and Logan… She hadn't even trusted him enough to tell him about Ben. In retrospect, she hadn't trusted herself on how she'd react to his taking the confession. What if she'd misjudged his level of friendship? What if he'd look at her like a murderer? What if he looked at her how she'd looked at Ben. The Manticore in her would have told her to get rid of the threat--Max closed her eyes. She wasn't a killer...

__

"Max, we don't belong with 'em. Okay? We're a danger to them. When are you gonna finally see that?"

He hadn't said it because he was jealous of what she wanted with Logan. Alec wanted to protect her. Wanted to protect them both; Logan from the danger of others, the ones that would always hunt them, and her from the pain of what losing him would cost. He'd been through it with Rachel and it haunted him.

For so long she'd avoided really looking at him. Didn't care to see past that perfect Manticore engineered exterior. Caring meant it would hurt if she lost him. The fewer friends you had, the fewer you could lose. She'd loved her family and lost them all. She was alone and there wasn't a day she wasn't reminded of how alone she was. If she cared and he walked away from her…she didn't know if she could take another absence or worse -- if they took him.

The door pulled away from her hand and she was enveloped by a familiar and comforting scent.

Alec smiled down at her. "I thought I felt you close."

She eyed him through narrowed slits. "Fairly confident were you?"

He encircled one of her wrists with his callused hand and rested her palm against his chest. "For four months, the scent of you was all I had to keep me alive," he said his voice growing deep and uneven.

Tears prickled her eyes again and Max veiled herself from the intensity of truth in his piercing green gaze. But the gentle touch of his thumb and index finger on her chin told her that he wasn't going to let her off this time.

"I'm tired of hiding, Max. I don't want to wait to lose you before I tell you everything I feel."

"Alec--"

The boat shifted and Max was thrown off her feet and into the hull. Alec managed to catch himself on the door frame.

"What was that?" he said his eyes widening with concern.

"I don't know, but we need to get up top." Max pushed off the wall and winced as her shoulder protested its injury. So much for a good night's sleep.

****

Above deck, a few seconds earlier

Mole slouched over the wheel, shrugging off his jacket. The glow of his cigar was all that the human eye could make out as he stood navigating in darkness.

"We made it," Midnight purred, as she lounged in the captain's chair behind him.

He turned to her and gave her a withered grin. "Don't count your kittens yet. We've still got a league of sea before I got earth under my feet. I ain't dancin' no victory jig till I can lay out under my thermals with the space heater on full throttle."

Midnight kicked behind his knee. "You're such an oaf. Not so much as a good job or nice to see you in one-piece?"

Mole raised a non-existent brow and scratched behind his neck. Women, couldn't understand 'em, couldn't live with out 'em and he wish it could be pain free trying to please 'em. Heh, why did he bother? "I knew you could handle it."

"So not the point," Midnight muttered.

A burst of bright light, cut through the twilight like a knife through butter and disappeared just as suddenly. Shortly after, Mole gripped the wheel to steady himself as the boat rocked dangerously on the water. "What the hell was that?"

Midnight had just bounced up from all fours. "I don't know. Freak tidal wave?"

"They don't happen in this part of the ocean, unless they are a result of seismic tremors between the tectonic plates. You feel anything else?" Ana asked her eyes narrowing. She wasn't equipped with night vision and she navigated the darkness with her extra-sensory ability, shifts in the breeze and hearing. She could pick up conversations going on behind a wall if she tuned out background noise. Before the light, she had felt a slight shift in the air, but nothing since the boat had rocked. Something felt off but she had no idea what it could be.

****

The helipad, Alcatraz Island

Agent Rushton tried the radio again but still couldn't break through the static. He'd tried the emergency channel without luck. Someone was jamming their signals. They'd got the reserve power online but the tower communications equipment was irreparable. The electromagnetic pulse bomb had fried everything in the tower and the surrounding area within a 500ft radius. He wasn't looking forward to facing his boss but nobody else was going to do it.

"We managed to arrange a transport from the mainland. Otto's team intercepted the freighter two hours ago but it was empty. The crew were unharmed, and we're holding them for debrief. Helo will be here in ten to take you to D.C. The Senate want a report."

White merely nodded and waved him away. When he was alone, he pulled out his cell phone. This time he had reception.

__

"Let the NSA and the FBI worry about handling the transgenics. I have something else in mind for you. Trace the isotopes. Let them lead you to him. There is no more room for error. It has begun."

McKinley's voice almost grated in his ears. He never liked the man but he had to respect him. He was a senior in the Familiar Circle and his wife was a member of the Conclave. "It will be done."__

"Good. Don't fail us this time. Fe'nos tol."

The sky above him turned white and a warm glow caressed his upturned face. "Miis'toka ben tahari filus par'ri ben'ta koss, my son. It has begun." This year's Katara ceremony would be one to remember, marked forever in their history books as the beginning of a new order. Soon the stain of the transgenic abomination would a distant memory and he could shed the pretense of being a faithful goverment lackey.

****

On the ferry

Max reached the deck before Alec and took stock of the wary expressions greeting her. "What happened?"

Mole pulled at his collar and shrugged. "Tidal wave?" He shook off his leather jacket and bent to retrieve his water canteen.

Midnight shot a look at Ana and then glanced back at Max. "The whole sky lit up like we'd hit high noon. I've seen a solar eclipse before but I've never seen anything like that."

"The air feels different," Ana said worriedly. It felt too warm. The sea breeze was supposed to be cool and damp. She was beginning to feel like her clothes housed built in radiators.

"I checked in on Ronan and Josh on the way up. Something's off. They're pale and clammy, like they have a fever. Ronan was showing signs of infection but an X5 doesn't wipe out like this," Alec said joining the group.

"We're about two hours from the bay. Damn, did it just get warm all of sudden?" Mole cursed taking another swig of his canteen.

Alec frowned. "I thought a little heat was never a problem for you?"

Midnight swayed on her feet and Max caught her arm. "Are you okay?"

The feline shook her head. "I'm actually feeling a little off." The motion of moving her head had her dashing for the rail. She crashed into it only barely catching herself from being thrown over before she emptied the contents of her stomach.

Mole pulled at his collar again. "Not this kind of heat, kid. It's all in my head..." He clapped a palm to his forehead and slumped over the steering column.

Alec immediately went to check him over. Grasping him under the arm, he lifted Mole off the wheel. The wind had picked up and immediately the wheel began spinning wildly. "Midnight, take the wheel. Ana give me a hand here. We'll get him below deck."

Max watched as Ana help Alec navigate around the deck to the hatch. Mole was looking a little green around the gills. Midnight didn't look much better. She was sluggish on her feet and her fur lacked its usual luster. She heard Gem and turned to see her passing Alec and Ana on the way down.

"Max, Josh isn't responding. He's delirious. I'm worried Max. The last case I saw like this was an X6 with an onset of progeria. But he can't have it right? Not this late. It would have presented before now. I mean, I haven't been sick since I was about six years old."

Max could tell she was beginning to panic, she was rambling. "Gem, I'm sure it's not. Joshua's the first of all of us. Any flaws in his DNA, Sandeman would have fixed before trying anything new..." Suddenly she wasn't so sure. For some, if it was broke, you just moved on. Try again. Why waste time on a lost cause?

Max heard footsteps on the stairs again and saw Alec and Ana headed toward them. Ana looked pale. Paler than usual and without even thinking to, Max zeroed in on her face. Perspiration dotted her brow and her eyes were dull and feverish looking. Suddenly everything slowed, it was as though she was watching a movie scene unfold at half-speed. Ana swayed backward, and Max tried to call out but her tongue refused to form the words. Alec was focused on the decking, lost in thought, he didn't notice Ana stagger behind him.

Ana hit the rail and toppled over backward. She hit the water with a loud splash. Alec heard the noise and watched as Ana's body disappeared under the water. Max didn't hesitate. She broke out in a sprint, kicking off her boots and climbed the rail in three fluid movements. A second after Ana fell, Max's feet left the railing and she dove into the murkiness abyss.

"Kill the engine," Alec barked. Running for the control panel, he slapped his hand down on the anchor button and turned back to the bow. Reaching the railing where Max had gone over, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to shake off the sudden wave of dizziness and nausea. He scanned the choppy water for any sign of them. Xs were trained to hold their breath for extended periods of time. Max would be fine but what if Ana had been unconscious when she went under?

Max's head broke through the surface and she held Ana's limp body in her arms. She struggled with her uninjured arm to swim them both back to the boat. It took an enormous effort, fighting the tide and supporting Ana's deadweight but she made it. Alec found a rope and tied a loop in one end, before throwing it over the side.

"It's too short," Max grunted, trying to reach it.

Alec leaned a little more, trying to lower it further. It was tied around his wrist to give her more length but she was still out of reach.

"Come on Max, if you just lift her a little," he grunted, feeling the rail digging into his ribs.

"I'm part shark, not dolphin," Max snapped. "Doing my best here. On three. One, two... " She ducked under and kicked up, hoping the momentum would push Ana a little higher.

"Three, gotcha." Alec managed to lasso Ana under the arm and pulled her up. Grabbing the neck of her jacket, before she slipped out, he dragged her back on board. No longer able to support their combined weight, he sagged against the bow with Ana's limp form against him. Checking for respiration and a pulse with unsteady hands, he was relieved to find she would be okay. He let his head fall back and blinked, trying to get the ship to stop swaying so violently in front of him. He tried to straighten his head, but suddenly he didn't even have the strength to do that well. Everything refused to focus and now the wild tilting was joined by a rapidly fogging haze.

Gem helped Max get a firm grip on the railing before she allowed herself to breathe easier. She closed her eyes and her knees buckle. She'd been running on adrenaline fumes and now her body had called it quits. A transgenic could only deny pain for so long before the body's survival instincts took over. Max had a split second to catch her arm before she went head first over board.

"Alec!" Max yelled. "A little help."

Alec managed to scramble to his feet to help Max lower Gem to the deck. The young mother was out cold. "Max, I think, I might be coming down with something," Alec murmured, slightly wheezy.

He was kneeling beside her one second, and the next his eyes slid shut and he fell heavily against her. Max eyes widened in fright as she caught his shoulders tightly. "Alec?" she cried, shaking him. "Alec, wake up, damn it." Her eyes darted about, surveying her surroundings. Every single transgenic was down. Midnight was slumped, slightly propped under the wheel. Ana was lying against the port bow and Alec and Gem were on the deck next to her. Whatever had taken them out, didn't seem to have any effect on her. _Sandeman. You have to find Sandeman._ Her heart pounded in her chest and she fought back the raising panic rippling through her. How the hell was she going to manage this on her own?

With trembling fingers, she searched Alec's jacket pockets. Finding his cell phone she prayed they were close enough to the mainland that there would be reception. Then dialing the only number she could remember, she waited.

"Damn it Logan, now's not the time to make social calls." Max tried several more times but the phone continued to give her a busy signal. Who else could she try? Closing her eyes, she let her thumb hover above the keypad. Let something in her head remember. Her thumb danced over the keys in a familiar pattern, and few seconds later she was greeted by a sleepy, slightly agitated feminine voice.

__

"Do you know the hour at which you disturbed a sistah's beauty sleep?"

Daylight was beginning to filter across the sea and tickled her closed eyelids. The woman's tone did nothing to displace the feeling of trust and warmth the sound of her voice had evoked. How did she ask this woman for help when she couldn't even remember her name? She felt like a friend, but was she a friend that could be counted on? More importantly, did she know she was transgenic?

"I need help, please." Max wiped a stray tear as it slipped down her cheek. "Alec, Joshua…they're all…" her voice broke and she clenched her fist. She could do this damn it. She was a soldier. She could hold it together.

__

"Max? Just tell me where yo'll at an' I'll be there."

Max opened her eyes and stared into the horizon. She was beginning to think that despite how unjust and cruel the world was, that there was a God who cared. Alec surviving for all those months, pulling off the rescue against the odds, calling someone in the dark and just happening to find a lifeline…

"We'll be at the old docks in Sector 12 in two hours."

__

"Just hang tight, boo. I got yo' back."

* * *

A/N: Excuses don't make the waiting any less annoying, so I'll just say thank you all for your feedback and continued support. And big virtual double choc-chip cookies to those who like this enough to favorite it. :) You make my day.


	16. Flu or plague?

**Notes: Thank you to the lovely vintage.soul494 for the beta of this chapter :)**

* * *

**Original Cindy's apartment, Sector 4**

Original Cindy slid out of bed and started pulling on clothes. It took a few minutes to formulate a plan of action from the chaos of thoughts in her head; who to call, what could have happened and how she was going to help. Transgenics caught in public were still arrested on sight and Max was one of the most publicly recognizable faces around. And doggie dog's looks didn't exactly say boy next door. She had to figure out a way to get them past Sector Police without getting flagged.

Max had sounded on the verge of tears. Alec and Joshua had to be in a bad way, which probably meant they couldn't move under their own steam. Sewer travel was probably out of the question. Usually, if she needed 'moving-a-body-type-help', she'd call Max, Alec or Dawn. Dawn had become like a sister, a soul sistah. Max was her best friend but Dawn understood her like no one else. It was such a shame she wasn't a sistah of Sappho. It was as though she'd found Diamond in Dawn. It was hard not to be attracted to her. Like moths to the flame, men fell over themselves around her. The way her red-hair shimmered under light, it was as though it was something alive and when she looked at you, her expressive gray eyes could coerce you into spilling your darkest secrets. It was lucky that she and Ronan had each other. He was a cool levelheaded balance to her often impulsive desires and he also kept the persistent unwanted advances of others at bay. Not that Dawn couldn't handle them herself, it was just nice when you had someone who cared enough to vocally announce that you were spoken for. Call it primitive nature but she love watching a beat down in the name of love.

Max and Alec hadn't been around for months and considering they were the ones in need of rescuing, the first number that had come to mind was Dawn's. Phone in hand, her fingers dialed instinctively before hitting the hook button. Two days and no word. Her throat closed over. She refused to believe that her friend could have been killed. So far none of the news stations had reported anything on the disaster that had gone down inside Terminal City. It was as though they were all glad that the objects of their fears were no longer a threat. Sketchy had done a cover story, with a two-page spread for the New World Weekly, revealing in vivid detail with images what words could only begin to describe. There was not a soul left in the place, it was a barren wasteland with bloody proof of an invasion. Terminal City was enormous, it's perimeter spanned over half of Sector 7. She could only hope that most of the transgenics had escaped the carnage. She'd seen enough of them in action to know that they would have fought for survival. However the haunting emptiness, blood and shell casings pulled on her heart strings till she had to look away. She still hadn't found the nerve to risk a visit, to see it all with her own eyes. Perhaps if she didn't see it for herself, she could pretend it was just a nightmare that she'd wake up from. Right now she had to bury her fear for one friend to help another.

How she dreaded making this phone call. For a bunch of reasons, firstly because she only seemed to be calling when she needed something and second, she really didn't want to speak to her friend's other half. He was a grouch on his best days and she never could quite gauge where she stood with him.

_"Hello," a drowsy feminine voice answered._

Counting herself lucky, she got the person she wanted. "Kendra, I need a huge favor."

There was a soft chuckle followed by a masculine groan in the background.

_"Who is it babe?"_

_"Just a friend, Walter honey. Go back to sleep."_

"Ah actually, you might want to run this by him first." Original Cindy grabbed a pencil and started jotting down supplies and making notes while she pressed the phone to her shoulder. Putting the receiver back to her ear, she glanced at the page.

_"That bad huh. Well, I'm about to start my life-juice machine, in a couple minutes you'll have my undivided attention. In the meantime you might want to start your wish list, and I'll see what I can wring out of Walter."_

Original Cindy sighed. Kendra was one of those friends that went the extra mile without being asked. She hated that she'd been so busy lately that they hadn't had a chance to catch up like they used too. Kendra was playing house with her fiancée and well, she'd been too caught up with her new transgenic friends, rebuilding the underground railroad to Terminal City to notice her friend's absence. Jam Pony's media exposure had only lasted a week, however a government car was still parked a block away. Somehow it hadn't stopped coded messages from streaming in for help. She'd passed them along to TC's HQ and helped where she could, offering temporary shelter and food till they could make their way to their people's haven.

**Sandeman's old house**

It had been hours since any radio contact from Max's team and Logan was beginning to sweat buckets. Fearing the worst, he began to scroll national news feeds for any coverage regarding the attack on Alcatraz. Then at 3 a.m. he hit jackpot with Channel GNW in San Francisco.

_"Breaking news from Alcatraz Island. At around.1.10 am, this morning Alcatraz was breeched by an unnamed group, and thousands of transgenics were set free. We have unconfirmed reports of transhuman sightings around the city and can only assume that this act was in retaliation to the unsanctioned assault on the transgenic strong-hold two days ago. Footage of the area in Seattle clearly reveals what must have been a bloodbath. We still have no count on how many transgenic lives were lost that night. The transgenic leaders have been unreachable for information and while they have garnered little sympathy for their plight from the public, one government official had this to say,_

_"...(Ralph Black, White House) They were designed in a lab, but they were carried to term and birthed just like any human child. Think of it as gene therapy. Most wouldn't even bat an eye at IVF created babies and gene mapping for ideal offspring, this isn't much of stretch on that. These people are being hunted and caged like animals. How do you think they're going to react? You treat someone with hostility and disrespect, expect the same in return. If we're going to survive a civil war, we better wake up to ourselves. And make no mistake, that's where we're headed."_

_"The official word is that there have been no casualties during the invasion of Alcatraz Island. However there has been no government response to the question of recapture of the escapees.We will bring you updates as we have them. This has been a streaming new bulletin. Reporting live from San Francisco, I'm Heather Prince for GNW. Studios, back to you."_

This was not good. He had tingles from head to toe. It was always a bad sign. Max was a survivor, she'd pulled through worse scrapes than this but then again, she hadn't been herself. What if she had gotten in a tangle with White? She wasn't stronger than him, he'd almost killed her three times now and it was sheer luck that he hadn't succeeded yet. Max always played down the details but Logan had watched her back long enough to learn to read between the lines. Max was afraid of White. And Max wasn't afraid of anything. Well maybe Lydecker but that was a subject for a different day.

Logan picked up his phone and started dialing. He needed more information and he wasn't going to get it sitting on his ass. "Matt, it's Logan."

**Two hours later, Sector 6**

By the time Max dropped anchor and rolled out the gangplank to the jetty, she was a shivering wreak. Navigating the Strait, answering the Coast Guard hails with the appropriate updates, keeping her knots at a speed low enough not to arouse suspicion while traveling the channels to Elliot Bay, all while having the seemingly deteriorating condition of her crew at the forefront of her mind, had all taken its toll. How on earth had Mole ever made it look so easy, she wondered.

In the process of throwing scrap on board the deck and partially covering the helm from view with the sail of another boat, she heard a familiar voice call out. Searching out it's source she felt her face warm and part of her nervousness ebb. Matching the face with the voice, all her memories of her friend came flooding back. "OC."

They embraced tightly and Max felt a fresh tear slip down her cheek.

"You had me so worried. Yo' gonna make me go gray before ma time, boo."

Max pulled back and wiped her face with a small smile. "Couldn't make it to Sector 12, had to pull in early. Sorry I had to drag you out all the way to West on Garfield."

"Don't sweat it, always wanted to see a pile'a ol' relics," OC quipped with a hand on her hip. "So where are yo' boys?"

At that, Max started to tear up again. "I managed to get everyone below deck, keep them out of the cold. Do you have a ride?"

"Should be pullin' up any minute now."

True to her word, Max heard the hum of engines. A police holding van rolled to a stop a few feet from the launching ramp and there was a squad car behind it. Max couldn't stifle a laugh of surprise when she watched three of her friends climb out. Sketchy and Kendra in matching sector police get up and Normal in a suit and tie, along with a long black trench coat. Perfectly suited to the dreary Seattle weather and looking every bit the working professional. A year ago she wouldn't have considered Normal among her list of likeable acquaintances much less a friend, but now she knew better. He might be stuffy at times and could use a lot of pointers working on his communication skills, but his heart was in the right place.

"You didn't think you could make it a little easier did ya, Missy Missy?" Normal grumbled as he walked over after Sketchy.

Max smiled. "Thanks Normal."

"I'm doing this for the rock star. Where is Alec?"

Original Cindy sighed and rolled her eyes. Kendra pulled Max into a sideways hug. "Seems I'm bailing you out a bit lately. It would have been great if you'd made it to Sector 12, then we'd only be a hop away from Sector 7."

Cindy had told her of at least two safe houses near Terminal City that the Xs had used if it was too hot to make it back to home base. Getting the troops home and keeping them off the local enforcement radar had been their number one hurdle and they thought they'd had it all planned. Being way out in Sector 6 meant they had to cross through at least 3 security checkpoints to make it to a safe house or Josh's old digs.

"Sorry Kendra but the Coast Guard was about this close to busting the whole thing," Max said holding her index and thumb about a centimeter apart. "I never thought I'd say it but that good for rich white boys with too much time on their hands."

"Those Speed Demons at it again?"

Max just shrugged, whatever they called themselves, their distraction offered her enough time to pull into the nearest port and hide in the ship graveyard. The Pulse had fried all SAT-Nav and computer-controlled engines, which qualified for 80 of Americas shipping manifests. The result was harbor loads of useless flotilla. Some had been salvaged by those that had cash stashed under mattresses, vaults or bricked into walls but others had just been cast adrift or run aground.

"Thanks for coming. All of you." She met each of her friend's gazes as she motioned them to climb on board. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Normal and the rest of the gang followed her on board and down the hatch. When they caught sight of the bodies lining the corridors, wrapped in blankets and propped on bunk pillows and cushions, Max could feel the air grow colder.

"Oh merciful mother! Are they?"

"Just help me get them up," Max said cutting Normal off abruptly. She refused to believe that this was deathly grim. The image of Ray, White's son, came to mind and she saw his condition mirrored in all there faces. Ray had recovered, they would too.

**Previously, Jam Pony**

When he'd gotten up this morning, the hairs on his neck wouldn't flatten. It usually meant that he was in for a headache by day's end. True to his hunch, he'd gotten a phone call from Original Cindy at six thirty, just ten minutes shy from when he usually opened the front gates and rolled up the door.

"Jam Pony, how may we be of service?"

_"Normal, we got a crisis-"_

"Don't wanna hear it, you could have small pox, a tooth extraction, kidney transplant, whatever get a doctor's certificate and come in tomorrow," he shot off before she could make any lame excuses of her own.

_"Max needs help."_

Normal put his hands on his hips and pursed his lips with a frown. So the perpetually late ex-employee was in hot water, when wasn't she? "Listen, I'd love to but I've got a business to run. And look what helping Max got me the last time. You should stay out of this, you know the bullet won't miss twice." He heard her sigh and felt his resolve weakening already.

_"You're a good person, Normal. Deep down under that cranky, self-serving, uptight exterior, there beats the heart of a genuine hero who'd never turn on a person in need. Max and Alec need help-"_

"I know I'll live to regret this," he muttered. "Where are do you need me?" After hanging up the phone he was reminded of his father's words. _"All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good men to sit around on their asses."_ He'd done a lot of things he never thought he could or would over the past year. Delivered a transgenic baby, unwittingly helped forge the transgenic underground railroad and spoken up for transgenic rights, what's a little rescue operation between friends? "Sky, get over here."

"Ya boss?"

"You're in charge. If this place is in ruins when I get back, you're fired." At Sky's horrified expression, Normal took off his headset and pushed it into the boy's trembling hands. "That goes for all you cretins," he yelled. "There are plenty of good legs out there just waiting for a job. Don't disappoint me."

**In Sector 6, waiting at the Sector 3 checkpoint**

"Well, it's showtime," Kendra said passing Normal his ID. "Let me do the talking."

The guard tapped on her window and Kendra rolled it down. "Bus' full of those freaks. A couple of them look like they've come down with something. Broke out the latex when lockin' 'em down. Here's the list of barcodes. You wanna still drag 'em out here?"

"Give us a second," he said putting the list under his arm and walking back the control booth.

"Frack, I hope Walter's done with Greta at Seattle P.D. by now."

In the van, sitting across from Original Cindy and supporting Alec's head in her lap, Max kept her fingers busy brushing through his hair.

"He'll be okay, Max. This is Alec we're talking about. The tomcat with nine lives. The guy can have women clawing each other because of his schmoozin' ways and he's the one who walks away unscathed." OC watched Max's hand still and a pained expression cross her face. She'd said the wrong thing.

At her friend's querying look, Max shook her head and schooled her features. Old thoughts and feelings were returning but as she looked at his pale face, she knew that all that had been holding her back from telling the truth before was her fear. She was afraid of being rejected, afraid of trusting someone with her heart, and Alec was the biggest player she knew. He was so comfortable in his own skin it made her see how vulnerable she was. They might have been bred to be perfect in appearance and molded into hardened war machines but inside they were about as fragile as glass. Love was something to be feared. There was no room for the emotion in their operating procedures, it clouded your judgment and made you weak. How were you supposed to process the feeling and what it meant when the mere hint of it would grant you a week of special conditioning in solitary. Her track record with love wasn't all that encouraging either. Everyone she'd ever loved was missing or dead. It was easier to keep people at arms length. She had convinced herself that it was to protect them. Now she realized that all it was doing was causing more hurt. Alec proved he loved her even when she hadn't loved him back. He'd almost died never knowing how she felt about him. Resting her hand on his chest, she could feel the rapid beat of his heart. He was strong, he'd pull through this.

Normal hadn't held back when he'd told her what he'd thought. "You were gone for what felt like a lifetime and this is the condition you bring him back in? Remind me never to put my life in your hands. Sweet lord, look at his beautiful face!"

Max could only swallow tightly. Thank heaven for small mercies that Alec was wearing long sleeves and pants. Photographic memory told her that there was a myriad of scars and bruises hidden beneath them and she didn't want to try and explain those let alone face more of Normal's accusing glares.

Bending her head close to his face, she kissed his lips softly. "I love you, Alec. You can't die on me. I need you, you hear me."

Outside the sector gate, the boom lifted and the guard stalked back over and handed back the clipboard.

"Authorization came through. Keep the letter from the Clemente on top next time."

The guard waved them through. Kendra rolled up her window and threw her ID into the middle console. "One checkpoint down. Two to go."

**Sandeman's old house**

Logan was waiting on the front porch when they pulled up to the curb and was heading down to meet them. They'd finally gotten through to him on the way over. Original Cindy was surprised to see him standing, much less walking, he looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Beverly's on her way. I think we're probably experiencing something similar to White's breeding cult ritual. Did you see any marks or welts of any kind on their skin?"

Sketchy and Max were carrying Alec up from the van between them and passed Logan on the way inside. "No, they just went down really suddenly. But I think Mole was actually the first to present any kind of symptoms. You might want to check him over first."

Logan followed them in and held open the door to the guest room. He sneezed and fished in his pocket for his handkerchief. "There's my bedroom upstairs and Josh's old room down the hall. We can clear out the kitchen and the lounge to make more room."

Max nodded in acknowledgment and brushed past him to help Normal and OC bring in the rest of their friends.

Sketchy stood by the door and looked back at Alec. "Man, I've never seen Alec look like that. It's freaky. I've just seen him in action and I dunno, you kinda get to thinking they're invincible, you know."

Logan looked over at the younger man on the bed and felt his jaw tighten. He did look really bad, almost unrecognizable. Alec animated with his trademark smirk in place, Logan hadn't really noticed the fading bruising and healing cuts on his face before. Looking at him now, he looked like your average man on an express ticket to the nearest ICU.

Dr. Beverly Shankar arrived a few minutes later, just as they were laying out Ronan on couch cushions in the bathroom. Max wanted to check his wounds over. He was the worst for wear and she wanted him close to the bath, so they could hose him down if his temperature got too high. After checking only Ronan and Alec, Beverly pulled Logan and Max into Logan's den.

"I need you tell your friend's to go home. Tell them to call in sick, I'll right them certificates. They need to shower and stay away from everyone else till I can get some blood tests done."

Logan frowned. "It's that bad?"

Beverly nodded. "The two I looked at are presenting all the signs of fighting off infection. Max, they didn't come into contact with any suspicious? Were they given anything, injected or..."

"Alec wasn't on the Island and he didn't get shot or anything."

"But what about all the time you've been gone, could he have been tested with something? You don't know for sure, your memory's fuzzy, Max. Where was Alec while you were with Lydecker?" Logan asked pointedly.

Max's eyes widened, then narrowed at the implication behind his question. Alec made sure that White never found her. He spent four months enduring God only knew what kind of torture White could dish out and he'd never given her up. How dare he suggest that Alec was the cause of the problems they were facing now. He was suffering, maybe dying in that room and Logan had the nerve to suggest that he might have brought a plague to their doorstep. "If White did anything to Alec, I'm sure Lydecker would have found it when they-- wait, the light," Max exclaimed. "The whole sky lit up. Mole started complaining about heat almost straight away."

"It could be an airborne pathogen," Beverly added worriedly. "Which could mean everyone's gonna start presenting very soon."

A news update on the television caught everyone's attention.

_"We go to Heather Prince at San Francisco General for more news on what sources say is the worst Emergency Crisis since the Pulse."_

_"We are here at San Francisco General, where over the last hour the sick continue to stream in faster than hospital staff can find beds. They've begun treating in the car park and have re-routed ambulances to other hospitals to deal with the escalating influx of patients. The CDC have been called in and we've been advised to stay behind the biohazard line. People around the city are collapsing with symptoms such as shortness of breath, high temperature, blurred vision, dizziness and rapid heartbeat. Twelve people have slipped into a coma and one elderly patient has died. Anyone feeling the onset of these symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately..."_

Original Cindy started down the hallway toward them. "I just got Gem settled." Suddenly, her legs stopped supporting her weight and she fell heavily into the wall. "Whoa."

Max caught her around the waist and helped guide her to a chair. She shot an anxious glance at Dr. Shankar. "It's too soon, right?"

"It can't be a coincidence. The transgenics from Alcatraz would have made port at San Francisco, and people are suffering the same symptoms there, to what we have here. If they were infected, it's already spread." Logan peeled off his jumper and pulled at his collar. "It's getting warm in here. I'll go open some windows."

"Logan, don't." Max took his arm and walked him to his desk chair. Pushing him into it, she whirled quickly, locking eyes with Dr. Shankar. "We need to get Sandeman. This is that Coming he was trying to warn us about. He's our only hope."

"You know where he is?" Logan asked in surprise. "You might have thought to mention that sooner."

Max picked up the phone, then put it down again in frustration. "Damn it. I don't know the number."


End file.
